Are You Missing the Most Important Moments in Your Child"s Life?

Do you even know what they are? As parents, many of our teaching opportunities come in unplanned moments-in conversations, as we work with our children, and as family members face challenges together.
These opportunities can be powerful teaching moments because they are closely tied to what our children are experiencing.
These opportunities may come and go quickly, so we need to recognize them and be prepared to teach principles that our children want to learn and are ready to learn.
How do we spot the teaching opportunities? When you have opportunities to make correct choices, you may want to share these experiences with your child.
For example, if you are given too much change at a store, you can ask your child what you should do.
This can lead to a discussion about topics such as honesty, agency to make good or bad choices, and the consequences of our actions.
It would be very easy to not worry about $.
35 or to take care of it and say nothing about it.
But expressing to your child why you are doing what you are will speak for your character and allow your child an opportunity to learn and grow with you.
Grab the moment.
Another simple example is when you are on a walk with your child and you see a piece of trash on the ground.
Simply encourage your child to pick it up and place it in the nearest trash can.
Have a conversation about caring for our community, showing respect for neighbors, or little acts of kindness/service.
These moments present themselves regularly.
It is up to us as parents to capture the moments and make them meaningful.
Words without action often mean little.
Action without words may be missed by a young child.
Acting and expressing the reasons of why you are doing something is the way to grab the teaching moments in your child's life.
Make sure you aren't missing the most important moments in your child's life.
Grab hold of the simple teaching opportunities and parent with purpose!