There are many components that help create our character.  As parents and caregivers, we have an upfront responsibility to help cultivate and create good character in our children.

 What is a mistake? 

The Oxford dictionary defines a mistake as: an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong. 

It can include making a miscalculation, having an oversight, or simple misinterpretation. 

We all make mistakes. In just typing this blog, I made numerous mistakes in the spelling of some words. 

Research suggests that during the workday, adults make 3-6 errors per hour!

On the average workday, that's an average of 50-60 mistakes per day!

It Began As A Mistake

Scenario:

Kennedy was so excited about learning to garden. Her first project was to plant a Marigold in a pot. 

Her big sister, Kat offered her a blue and yellow striped pot that belonged to their deceased grandmother.

After carefully planting the marigold flower in the pot, patting the soil evenly and watering it...she attempted to pick up the pot to show her sister the progress.

In doing so, the pot slipped from Kennedy's hand, fell to the floor and broke!

Kennedy immediately cried and began to profusely apologize to Kat.

Kat's response to Kennedy has the ability to affect her life.

How should Kat respond?  Should she belittle Kennedy with responses such as:

"You idiot!"  "How stupid could you be?!" "You're so dumb!"

How about the following responses: 

"It's alright Kennedy, we can glue it back together", "Accidents and mistakes happen to all of us."

Let's Examine Ourselves

How do you as a parent/caregiver respond when your child/children make a mistake?

Do you yell and scream?

Do you call them demeaning names such as "Stupid", "Slow", "Retarded", etc?

Our responses to such experiences as mistakes or errors can have a lasting effect on their character. 

If Kat's response to Kennedy were negative, it could cause her to abandon the idea of learning to plant or garden.  It could also cause her to never want to try something new again. 

But the positive responses to Kennedy's mistake or accident would encourage her to find ways to solve problems in the future.  They could also cause Kennedy to respond positively to others when they make mistakes or have accidents. 

In addition, Kat's positive response will let Kennedy know that she can come to her big sister for help in the future without being ridiculed. 

Yes, the flowerpot had sentimental value, but was it more valuable than building Kennedy's character? 

Take a moment to think about it.  Mistakes are going to happen, and we can take those opportunities to build the character of our children. 

Picture Credit: Santa Barbara @Unsplash.com