Kids & Family
Parents Make Amends!
Our kids can drive us crazy! But the bottom line is that we are the adults, so we need to do the adult thing and make amends when needed.
On a Saturday morning, not too long ago, I was trying to get everything done so I could get my son to his basketball game on time. He was busy lounging on the couch bothering his sisters. I walked by him a few times and asked him to stop bothering them and to go eat breakfast. After asking several times I finally stopped and demanded that he leave them alone and go eat breakfast. He looked at me, still not moving, and said, “Say please.”
Now I’m all for saying please and having good manners, but I’m pretty sure this was done on purpose to get my goat. That was it. That was the final straw. I dropped the laundry basket with his basketball uniform still in it to the ground and read him the riot act. He slowly walked to the table and sat there and sulked as he ate. We ate breakfast in silence and then he quietly left the table and went outside to shoot some hoops before his game. I knew that I still had to take a shower so I would be ready and wouldn’t make him late to his game. But, I also knew that I had to be the adult and make amends with him.
I laced up my sneakers and quickly ran outside to shoot some hoops. It was a pretty good game that I made sure came down to the last basket winning the game. But, more importantly, it was a good conversation between a parent and a son that made amends and reminded both of us that we were still on the same team, a father-son team. Everything turned out okay. And believe it or not, we even made it to his game on time.
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Now, as my Granddaddy always said, “Go learn, lead, and lay the way to a better world for all of us.” Let’s always remember to make amends with our little ones, regardless of who is at fault. And once again parents, thanks in advance for all that you do, and all that you will do…
Daniel Blanchard is a New Britain Schoolteacher who has written teen leadership books and is now writing a parenting book. He is a bestselling author, award-winninng speaker and educator who has appeared on over 100 television and radio shows. Learn more about Dan at: www.GranddaddysSecrets.com
