🔊 “𝗗𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘆!” — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗹

Walking through the park recently, I noticed a determined little two-year-old proudly calling out:
“Daddy! Daddy!”

They were eager to show off their scooter-riding skills — beaming with pride after mastering their balance. But their dad, distracted on his phone, didn’t notice. And in that moment, what that child really needed wasn’t praise or fanfare — it was 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

That tiny word — “Daddy” — is more than just a name. It’s a 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. For 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴. And it reminded me how foundational those early moments are.

When we experience 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 with our caregivers, we’re not just given love — we’re handed the 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲:

✨ the 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 to explore our world
👫 the ability to make and 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀
🌀 the 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 to face the messiness of adolescence
🧭 the 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 to make future choices that honour who we are
💞 the strength to form 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 — or stay single, without shame. The 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 to know your own mind!
👣 the opportunity to pass this 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 on to the next generation

It all starts in the smallest ways. In 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻. In hearing:

“𝗜’𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”
“𝗜’𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”
“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.”
So when we reflect on 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, it’s not always about grand gestures or long conversations. Sometimes it’s as simple as 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 when a little voice calls out, “Daddy!”

What early memories shaped your 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 when you were learning to ride your own “scooter” through life?