Teachable Moments

Today we had a visitor to our house. A possum was sitting on my gas grill. This little guy scared the heck out of my daughter. Let’s start from the beginning; we arrived home Saturday evening after I took my children with me to one of my prevention presentations. (Operation Snowball ). My daughter got out of the car and let out a blood curdling scream, then jumped back in the car. What happened was, this little creature was staring at her….

I pulled out of the garage and I got the possum off the grill; however he ran under a dresser in my garage and after an hour or so of searching, he was not to be found. The next morning, I found this little creature scared and hungry in my recycle bin. We took “Spike”, named by my son, across the street to the field and set him free to join his family.

The reason I’m telling you this story is because I used this as a “teachable moment”. I realize Spike just wanted to be safe, warm and fed.

Ok, so what does this have to do with children?

The same is true for them. They want to feel safe and know that they are being cared for. Spike didn’t want to hurt us; he was lost, away from his family and just needed to feel safe. Finding comfort in my recycle bin, he was content but scared. I ask you; please don’t just make your children feel content. Make them feel loved, cherished and wanted. We as a family, we released Spike back to the field so he could be with his family and hopefully feel loved and comforted again.

OK, I realize this is a stretch, but a true and funny story that I wanted to share with you. It made a positive point to my children and they learned from it. Hopefully you as parents will take everyday life and use it as a “teachable moment”.

Teachable moments are opportunities that you should always be looking for. Talk with your children about strangers, when you see people in a grocery store, a Target, Wal-mart or the mall. Look for articles in the newspaper, the internet, the local and national news that talks about drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy, drinking and driving, under aged drinking etc… Use these news stories to get the communication started and let your children know your rules, values and consequences…. Again, a little bit everyday makes a BIG difference!