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Accidents are Inevitable: But How Do You Deal with Them?

“You Aint Cool Unless You Pee Your Pants.” -Billy Madison

Valerie, a six-year-old kindergartener from Utah wet her pants at school and was mortified. Her Father, Ben Sowards’ quick thinking made him a viral sensation and some have even dubbed him, “Father of the Year.” Why? All because he showed up at his daughter’s school with a splash of water on the front of his pants. You see, when Mr. Sowards went to pick up his daughter he let her think he too had an accident and asked for her backpack to cover it up. Together they “snuck out” so that no one else could see.

To some, Mr. Sowards’ actions might not seem like much but to a young, embarrassed child I know it means everything. As a child how many times did you have an uncomfortable moment? When I read about Valerie’s plight I felt for the little girl. Every child has those moments where they cringe and think, “I am definitely not going to school tomorrow.”

By putting himself out there, Mr. Sowards told his daughter that it was okay to have accidents—and that everyone makes them no matter how old they are. His actions were kind, thoughtful and selfless. That small action showed that he put his child’s comfort before his own. This got me to thinking, how many times as a parent do we put our child/children’s comfort before our own? Even the tiny actions we make as parents really do mean so much in the eyes of our children. If you want your child to learn a lesson, may I suggest remembering the phrase “actions speak louder than words.”

Let us all try to be a little more like Mr. Sowards—not afraid to show your child (or the world) that mistakes are okay.

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One Response

  1. That’s so awesome that he would do this for his daughter. Not many parents would be willing to put themselves out there like this. It takes guts and heart, clearly he has a both!