{"id":335,"date":"2012-06-12T15:29:36","date_gmt":"2012-06-12T15:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/?p=335"},"modified":"2012-06-12T15:36:51","modified_gmt":"2012-06-12T15:36:51","slug":"teachable-moments-rather-than-preachable-moments-3-ways-to-incorporate-teachable-moments-into-your-everyday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/2012\/06\/12\/teachable-moments-rather-than-preachable-moments-3-ways-to-incorporate-teachable-moments-into-your-everyday\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachable Moments Rather Than \u2018Preachable\u2019 Moments: 3 Ways To Incorporate Teachable Moments Into Your Everyday."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When Caidin was little, we found ourselves not only describing and explaining things to him, but being sure that we added adjectives and adverbs to every sentence. So instead of saying \u2018that\u2019s a dog,\u2019 we\u2019d say \u2018that\u2019s a big brown dog called a Labrador.\u2019 Or we would explain what we were doing and why, while in the midst of things. I\u2019m sure this is why Caidin\u2019s first word after the usual Ma, Da, Bottle was Octopus.<\/p>\n

We also helped Caidin, through his own experiences and ours, to understand how we react and respond to situations in our lives. If he was frustrated, we didn\u2019t ignore it or let him figure out how to deal with it on his own, we\u2019d help him put words to it, understand it and then find ways to deal with it. So today, he has a number of strategies (I call them tools) that help him to manage his own emotional experiences, including both a great vocabulary to express what\u2019s going on as well as the confidence and comfortableness to be able to express it.<\/p>\n

Teachable moments exist in everything we say and do; whether you want to teach your child about life, love, faith, gratitude, positive thought or seeing life as an adventure.<\/p>\n

The key to teachable moments though is to keep them \u2018teachable\u2019 rather than \u2018preachable.\u2019 Effective teachable moments are woven into every day conversation, time doesn\u2019t stop and stand still so that you can use a moment to tie it to a bigger concept. Teachable moments are simply a part of your day-to-day activity.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much like learning in general. Caidin goes to a progressive school where teaching is integrated into the everyday. Most of the time he doesn\u2019t even know that he\u2019s learning but it is amazing what he knows. Sometimes he blurts out facts that I will secretly look up to verify.<\/p>\n

Have you ever actually looked at a child when they are being \u2018spoken to\u2019? They sit rigid, usually holding their breath and their eyes look like that of a deer caught in headlights. They aren\u2019t really listening at these moments, they are thinking \u2018am I\u2019m in trouble\u2019 or \u2018what do I have to do to make this stop\u2019. By weaving teachable moments into your day-to-day, you create a way in which everyday conversation becomes the spring board to providing your support, instilling your beliefs and offering your guidance.<\/p>\n

Here are three great ways to make teachable moments part of your everyday conversation<\/p>\n

Ask Questions<\/strong> -When a teachable moment arises, ask questions about your child\u2019s thoughts, feelings and experiences and share yours as well. See where the conversation goes, highlighting the lessons you want to share.<\/p>\n

Added Benefits:<\/strong>In addition to creating a teachable moment, your child will learn to communicate with you.<\/p>\n

Share Experiences<\/strong>-Use your own experiences to highlight the lessons you want to share. An example might be \u201cYou know what happened to me today?\u201d and then share your experience and weave your lesson into your experience.<\/p>\n

Added Benefits:\u00a0<\/strong>In addition to creating a teachable moment, your child will learn how to talk about and share experiences through your example.<\/p>\n

Use What You See-<\/strong>There are many places and ways to use what you see to teach life lessons from video games, to movie, to television to the news to everyday life happenings. One of my favorites is actually television. Whether it\u2019s gender equality, stereotypes or the power marketing has on people; television offers many wonderful teachable moments. When I see something that offers a teachable moment, I\u2019ll make a statement or I\u2019ll ask a question. For example, we were watching a cartoon on television and a commercial came on for a dinosaur. The ad made it look huge and interactive. I asked Caidin \u2018What do you think about that toy? Do you think it actually looks like that?\u2019 He said, \u2018No, I think it\u2019s much smaller and it probably doesn\u2019t do any of what they are showing.\u2019 Which was a great analysis of the ad and he was correct. We looked it up on line and the toy was pretty small and it really didn\u2019t do anything at all.\u00a0 We went on to discuss how he would have felt if he ordered it and we also explored the ways in which the marketing had made it seem more exciting than it was.<\/p>\n

Added Benefits:\u00a0<\/strong>In addition to creating a teachable moment, your child will learn critical and analytical thinking skills.<\/p>\n

Using life as teachable moments can be time consuming, because almost every moment offers us something we can learn, but if you make it part of your everyday parenting you will not only be supporting your child, you will be helping them develop great skills and tools to manage their own life<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a9 2012 Christine Agro<\/p>\n

Have questions about your child or need support? Christine offers\u00a0private readings<\/a>\u00a0as well as on-line support at\u00a0The Consicous Mom’s Guide<\/a><\/p>\n

Christine Agro is a clairvoyant, naturopath, Master Herbalist, conscious mom and author of 50 Ways to Live Life Consciously as well as of The Conscious Living Wisdom Cards (Special Moms\u2019 Edition). Christine is founder of The Conscious Mom\u2019s Guide , a membership site where she helps support you on your own journey of living life consciously and on your journey of being a Conscious parent. You can also join Christine on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>. To contact Christine, invite her to speak or to schedule an appointment with her please\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Caidin was little, we found ourselves not only describing and explaining things to him, but being sure that we added adjectives and adverbs to every sentence. So instead of saying \u2018that\u2019s a dog,\u2019 we\u2019d say \u2018that\u2019s a big brown dog called a Labrador.\u2019 Or we would explain what we were doing and why, while…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":495,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,28,3,127,10,107],"tags":[58,138,137,9,136,527],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conscious-parenting-2","category-insight","category-life-as-a-conscious-mom","category-life-tools-for-children","category-list-day","category-teachable-moments","tag-beliefnet","tag-child-and-learning","tag-children-and-learning","tag-christine-agro","tag-how-to-create-teachable-moments","tag-teachable-moments"],"yoast_head":"\nTeachable Moments Rather Than \u2018Preachable\u2019 Moments: 3 Ways To Incorporate Teachable Moments Into Your Everyday. - Life As A Conscious Mom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/2012\/06\/12\/teachable-moments-rather-than-preachable-moments-3-ways-to-incorporate-teachable-moments-into-your-everyday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teachable Moments Rather Than \u2018Preachable\u2019 Moments: 3 Ways To Incorporate Teachable Moments Into Your Everyday. - Life As A Conscious Mom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Caidin was little, we found ourselves not only describing and explaining things to him, but being sure that we added adjectives and adverbs to every sentence. 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