Spilt Milk

Have you heard of the story about spillt milk? Well, we all know there is no use crying over spillt milk. But this story is different. I would hope all parents would respond in this manner.

I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he was so much more creative than the average person; what set...apart from others?

He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occured when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor - a veritable sea of milk!

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said...

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?" he chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilt milk.

The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

The renowned scientist remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunitys for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't work," we usually learn something valuable from it.

Wouldn't it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert's mother responded to him?