Do you write letters to your children? I do and I love receiving letters from them too. In fact, at home I have an orange box with a sunflower that contains letters from my sons and husband. This to me is a treasure box as it contains all the expressions of love from the four most important men in my life – Marvin, Martin, Enrique and Anton.
When I’m feeling down and low and a bit uncertain about myself, I open this orange box and pick a letter and voila! I feel better! All of a sudden I feel wonderful being reminded of how these men regard me. All of a sudden, I feel like Mother Teresa in the body of Catherine Zeta Jones!
Letter writing is something I’ve encouraged my sons (and husband) to do. Come to think of it, the letters have become more valuable than the gifts that usually came with the letters. I’m so happy that my four men are very comfortable expressing themselves in letters. There is something about the written expression of love. It’s something you can absorb at the pace you want. You can touch it, smell it, hold it, keep it and “consume” it again and again.
It’s a wonderful feeling to go back to old letters and remember where you were, how you were at certain times in your life. You rekindle the moments and you gain better insights of how your relationships have developed over the years.
Late last year Summit Media published a book titled "Letters to My Children." It contains letters from 35 parents – writers, artists, media personalities, celebrities, businessmen.
They are the following:
- Gary Valenciano
- Lea Salonga
- Lance Gokongwei
- Budjette Tan
- Joshua Formentera
- Ines Bautista-Yao
- Patty Laurel-Filart
- Jay Jay Lucas
- Feliz Lucas
- Xandra Ramos-Padilla
- Noelle Hilario
- Joel Cruz
- Ani de Leon-Brown
- Paolo Abrera
- Camille Prats
- Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel
- Chary Mercado
- & 19. Edric & Joy Mendoza
- Rissa Mananquil Trillo
- Cyan Abad-Juego
- Janice Crisostomo-Villanueva
- Pauline Suaco-Juan
- Brian Adrian Borleo
- & 26. Chefs Rolando and Jacqueline Laudico
- Merlee Cruz-Jayme
- Jaymie Crisostomo-Pizarro
- Elizabeth Zobel de Ayala
- Dr. Vicki Belo
- Rose Fres Fausto
- Berna Romulo-Puyat
- Pia Magalona
- Jesse Robredo
- Tippy Go
It is a privilege to be among these great parents imparting their life lessons, expressing their unconditional love to their respective children.
I wrote to my three sons Martin, Enrique and Anton about our journey together building their Financial Intelligence Quotient (FQ) from the time they were born and how pleased I am to see them now all grown up confident, optimistic and kind. Indeed, any talk about money only makes sense and the lessons would last long if connected to our core values. And this is my invitation to all parents, “Teach your children about money because no matter how little you think your financial knowledge is, you are still the best teacher about something that should always be connected to family values.”
"Letters to my children" is a collection of heart-warming pieces from different perspectives about the many aspects of parenting. You may grab a copy of the book at all major bookstores.
I also invite you to revive the art of letter writing to your children and other loved-ones. Wouldn’t you want to express your love in an uninterrupted manner? And wouldn’t you want to receive such expressions of love, touch them, absorb them at your own pace, keep them, consume and savor them again and again as you please?
Cheers to writing love letters!
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Parents are the best teachers of FQ to their children. Take the FQ Test together and work on improving your FQ Score (both knowledge and behavior about money) together. Click link to take the test.
Rose Fres Fausto is a speaker and author of bestselling books Raising Pinoy Boys and The Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon (English and Filipino versions). Click this link to read samples – Books of FQ Mom Rose Fres Fausto. She is a Behavioral Economist, Certified Gallup Strengths Coach and the grand prize winner of the first Sinag Financial Literacy Digital Journalism Awards. Follow her on Facebook and You Tube as FQ Mom, and Twitter & Instagram as theFQMom.