Sand in the lounge.....
A Dad walked into the house after a stressful day at work to find a pile of sand in the middle of the lounge, brought in by his 6 year old daughter, while his wife had been in the shower. This was the last thing that he needed after the day that he had just had so he scolded her and sent her to bed crying.
After cleaning up the sand (still in his work clothes) he went upstairs to change. He peered into his little girl's room to see that she had fallen asleep and, as he did this, his wife emerged from the bathroom and said " Sally said she was going to make you a special sandcastle - did you like it?".
His wife obviously wasn't aware that their daugher had made it in the lounge and he hadn't taken the time to think about the positive intention behind the behaviour, or to listen to what his daughter had to say.....
When could you listen better, and take time to see the other person's point of view before making a judgement?
