As parents, it’s important for us to not just automatically assume that we know the motives behind our children’s behaviour. We must learn to give our children ‘the benefit of the doubt’, as they often end up surprising us when we discover their true intentions!

A wonderful story

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated to find his five-year-old son waiting for him at the door.

“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”

“Yes sure, what is it?” replied the man.

“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”

“That’s none of your business, why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.

“I just want to know, please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy.”

“If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”

“Oh,” the little boy replied with his head down, looking up, he said,

“Dad, may I please borrow $10?”

The father was furious.

“If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room, go to bed, and think about why you are being so selfish.”

“I work long hours every day and don’t have time for such childish behaviour.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, he had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10, and he really didn’t ask for money very often.

The man went to the little boy’s room and opened the door.

“Are you asleep, son?” he asked.

“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man.

“It’s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.”

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh thank you daddy!” he yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man, seeing that the boy already had money started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father.

“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.

“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.

“Daddy, I have $20 now, can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow, I would like to have dinner with you.”

Unknown author

Moral of this story

This is a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. This story also serves as a reminder of the importance of clear communication. Sometimes as adults, we tend to undermine our children’s feelings, and fail to hear what they are trying to communicate to us by assuming that we already know the motivation behind their behaviour.

Share this story with someone you like (using the social sharing buttons below) … and even better, share $20 worth of time with someone you love.