Explaining the 3 Types of Love to Your Child
What do you do when your 5-year-old asks you why he can’t marry his little sister? This can be a tough question to answer without opening up a huge can of worms that could quickly lead to talk about sex and where babies come from. (Every parent’s worst nightmare, right?) If your child isn’t quite ready for that talk just yet, there might be a more simple way to approach this.
An easy solution is to talk about the different types of love. In Greek, there are three words that each translate into “love” in English. Those 3 types of love are Eros, Philia, and Agape.
The 3 Types of Love and What They Mean
Eros
Definition – physical love; passion, desire.
How to explain to kids – This is romantic love. The type of love between two people who are married or in a committed relationship.
Philia
Definition – affection between friends. Aka brotherly love (as in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.)
How to explain to kids – This is family love. The love that you have for your brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, and close friends.
Agape
Definition – charity, motivated primarily by the interest and welfare of others.
How to explain to kids – This is the love you feel for all of creation and why you want to help (or feel compassion or empathy for) people, animals, and things you’ve never met before.
