I’ve heard it said many times that “You can only be as happy as your least happy child.” This is something I’ve experienced as a parent myself, so I 100% relate to it. When my kids were hurting, I felt their pain and I would have done anything to protect them from it. 

In my line of work, I have come to believe that the reverse is also true… “Kids can only be as happy as their parents.”  This is something that I haven’t heard talked about much, but think about it. Parents are our major influencers in life… people we subconsciously model ourselves after… people we love deeply…even if we don’t want to!

As a Certified Hypnotherapist in Los Angeles, I’ve worked with so many people who are depressed or experiencing deep sadness and when we explore the origin, it often comes down to people feeling really sorry for one or both of their parents. 

Lots of kids observe abusive relationships. When we dig deep, it oftentimes turns out that the child wanted to save the parent, but couldn’t. I’ve even had clients who physically tried to stop the abuse and got hurt themselves. Now the sadness of observing a parent being abused is compounded by the guilt and shame of being helpless and ineffective in defending that person whom the child loves most in the world. 

If you are a parent watching this… if you want to really give your kids a gift… do some work on yourself to find your greatest happiness. When you release your own baggage, you will not only be much more emotionally available to your children, but you will be better able to guide them in becoming the responsible, healthy adults that you want them to be. If YOU find your happiness, your children are much more likely to find theirs. 

Please always feel free to reach out at any time to learn more or set up a complimentary phone consultation.

Jayne Goldman, MBA, C.Ht., Founder and Principal of Best Life Hypnotherapy in Los Angeles, is a Certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Master NLP Practitioner and Coach.