Teachable Moments

Having two kids, loading and unloading the car is not an easy task. Having two little kids in car seats makes it even harder. I put Trent in first while Taelyn stands at my side, touching my leg or holding on to some article of clothing, so I know where she is at all times, especially if we are in a busy parking lot, when Trent is secure, I walk Taelyn to her side and strap her into her car seat. The other day, I was loading Trent into the car and it was a tight squeeze, so I didn't have the door open all the way. Taelyn went around me and pushed the door open all the way, slamming it into the car next to us. I immediately gasped, because without even looking, I knew that she scratched the car next to us. For a split second, I thought about just putting Taelyn in the car and leaving, there is no way to prove that it was us, but quickly snapped out of it and thought, what kind of example would I be setting for my kids?

I picked Taelyn up and moved my car door to see the damage, and just as I thought, it was a scratch about an inch long. My immediate reaction was to yell at her and tell her she did something terrible, but instead I put her down and I bent down to her level and explained to her that she disobeyed me, by not standing still and holding on to me, not only did she disobey me, but she pushed the door open and hit the car next to us. I showed her the scratch and then I proceeded to explain to her that when we damage something that doesn't belong to us, we must find out who it belongs to and apologize and ask them for their forgiveness. I told her we were going to go inside and find out who the car belonged to and when we find out, she would tell them that she was sorry and ask for their forgiveness, then ask them what she could do to make it right.

When we found the lady who the car belonged to, we brought her outside to asses the damage and Taelyn did just as I asked. She told the lady that she was sorry and asked for her forgiveness, while doing this, Taelyn had a pouty lip and tears in her eyes. It was obvious that she knew what she had done was wrong and she was really sorry. The lady was so nice and said it was perfectly fine, the scratch was not that big of a deal, but I told Taelyn to ask her if there was anything she could do to make it right. She was so gracious about it and said it was ok, but I insisted I pay for the damages, but she insisted it was fine.

I was embarrassed and worried, but I knew I had done the right thing because it felt right. I knew that I was teaching and leading by MY example. When we left, I told Taelyn that I was proud of her for doing the right thing and that I was not mad at her. I asked her what she learned and she said, "When I do something wrong, I must ask forgiveness, like God forgives us." I nearly started to cry because she GOT IT! To think, I could have missed a teachable moment because I was worried about the consequences. Not only did I do the right thing, I taught my daughter to do the right thing. Great Ah-Ha moment for me and an amazingly proud mommy moment.