Chalk up Another win for the Storyteller

I've found storytelling to be a powerful parenting tool over the years. This does a good job of summarizing the reasons why.

I reached into my bag of stories today to have a very worthwhile conversation with my boys today. After discovering this week that they had been covertly spending the money in their lunch accounts at school to buy breakfast also. To be clear, my wife and I aren't starving our little munchkins. They have been eating their usual breakfast (a bowl of cereal, milk and some fruit), but have hit a growth spurt over the past month and apparently arrive at school an hour later famished.

In a way, I was proud of their resourcefulness. But when we asked why their lunch account was empty, they didn't volunteer any news of their breakfast runs. After discussing why this was wrong and then discussing our revised breakfast menu at home, I was reminded of a not-so-happy story from college that I thought would be appropriate.

I was the student manager for the computer operations of the school's meal program. In my position, I needed a test version of the debit card used by students who participated in the plan. After the initial testing was over in the beginning of the school year, I began using the card to pay for my own lunch. I was caught, fired and fined by the university. It stung at the time, but I learned my lesson and have reflected back on the experience several times since then to help calibrate my moral compass.
I shared this story with the boys and they had plenty of questions that had more to do with college dormitories and the meal plan than with the moral of the story. Surprisingly, they got that part right away, "you were stealing, dad." All in all it was a good opportunity to fix a problem and teach a lesson without relying on guilt, intimidation or punishment.