Being A Parent: Opportunities

By: Bill Platt

THE biggest challenge I have had to face in my own life is that of being a good parent. My kids make it hard for me to stay true to the rules of good parenting... They break everything I own... Repeatedly... Fortunately, I do have the presence of mind to realize that as toddlers and young children, they really do not intend to break things... Instead, they are trying to get a grasp on how the world around them works. Yep, the lego floats. I wonder what it will do if I flush it?? "Daddy! The toilet is stopped up." So, Daddy pulls the toilet up, tries to backfeed a snake, and finally gives up. Daddy had to buy a new toilet, because he could not loose the lego stuck in its plumbing. Of course, the kiddies never told me what they flushed. All I knew is that I could not get it out. So, I turned it into a learning experience for my boys. I carried the toilet to the street, and took the boys with me. I took my trusty hammer and broke the plumbing portion of the toilet to see what kind of blockage I had tried to overcome. Upon finding a lego in the plumbing, I instructed the boys that the reason they could not use their toilet is because their lego got stuck. We have been working with the kids to teach them an understanding of the value of money. The six year old is starting to get it, but the boy who just turned four is still a bit unconcerned about such things. I explained to the boys that we would have to spend money to buy a new toilet. And, because that requires money to be spent, I would not be able to afford to take them bowling as promised. I could have afforded to do so, but they needed to learn a lesson. Once they calmed from losing their bowling privileges, we took a bad and made it fun. Each boy got the opportunity to use the hammer on the remains of our toilet. The trash guys would not have picked up the toilet, because it was a big object. So, I killed two birds with one stone, so to speak. Each boy got to take turns breaking the toilet into smaller pieces. They had a blast. Then, we took the chance to teach them the basics of basketball. We needed the small chunks of porcelain in the trash barrel, so we set the barrel nearby and tossed bits of the remains of the toilet into the trash can, as if we were playing basketball. It was an awesome experience overall, and my kids got to learn a few things, and try a few new things along the way. And yes, we did wash our hands after our game of basketball.