Love as a Parent
The seventh form is parental love, in which the devotee cherishes God with the tender, protective affection of a parent for a child.
Vatsalya-asakti is the astonishing mood in which the devotee loves God as their own child — as Yashoda loved the infant Krishna, fretting over Him, feeding Him, delighting in His play. In this form the usual relation is reversed: the infinite allows itself to be cherished, scolded, and cared for by the loving devotee. It is among the most tender of all the bhavas, expressing a love that is utterly without fear and full of nurturing sweetness. This mood reveals the divine willingness to be small and dependent for the sake of love, and it draws out the devotee's deepest tenderness. The parent-devotee loves God with protective, doting care. Here the majesty of God hides entirely behind the helpless charm of the beloved child.
Some love Him with the tender affection of a parent for a child.
The motif of cherishing the divine child appears strikingly in the Christian devotion to the infant Jesus, where the same reversal allows the worshipper to love the Almighty in the form of a helpless babe.
Narada Bhakti Sutras