Conditional Love
This is love that is not given freely; love that is only given based on certain requirements being fulfilled and met.
It is during our childhood that we have our first experience of love and our meaning or model of love is also created as a child. And, to be more specific here, the love I am talking about can come across as acceptance, attention, or mirroring.
Unconditional Love
This is love that is always there no matter what is said or done; it is love that is not retracted as a result of the child not doing what its parents/caregivers wants or of doing something that they disagree with.
The Importance of Love
Experiencing unconditional love as a child has got to be one of the most important factors in creating a functional human being. This is a human being that not only accepts him or herself but who also accepts others.
When this is not the case, individuals will question if they enough and if what they are doing is pleasing enough to others. It can be normal for this person to never quite know where they stand or whether they are truly accepted.
