Snakes are not often seen as a parenting tool, but this time, the Sunshine Dad found them effective. Here’s how.
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A while back my kids and I had the neat opportunity to watch a snake eat a toad in our front flower bed. We got to watch the whole thing from the comfort of our dining room window. It was really neat to watch the snake dislocate its jaw in order to accommodate the large toad. Granted, it was slightly depressing for the toad, but hey, a snake’s gotta eat too. It allowed for me to get a few once in a lifetime photos. One of which is below.
Fast forward to the present. I had a pile of lumber beside my house that I needed to get rid of. I was all too aware that the pile created an excellent environment for a snake (or two) to curl up under. I put on some rubber boots and gloves and began the process of clearing out the pile. My three oldest kids were very interested in what I was doing and despite my repeated requests to stay away from the pile they continued to walk right up.
On one of my return trips to the pile I witnessed my oldest walk right into the middle of the pile and reach down with his little bare hand to pick up a small board. I lost my cool. I yelled at him. Harder than I should have. I immediately felt guilty but I also felt the need to keep him safe. A few moments later when I was dragging off the last board I uncovered something. There coiled up under the last board, was a snake.
A small part of me now felt justified for losing my cool, the other part of me wanted a chance to have another opportunity to properly explain to my kids why I wanted them to stay away. I called the kids over and pointed out the snake to them. I explained that they could have been bitten and I wasn’t trying to be mean, I was sorry for yelling, but I loved them and I wanted them to be safe. We hugged, we had a moment. It was nice.
I’m not a snake expert. I didn’t know what kind of snake it was but I do know the six poisonous snakes native to Florida. This wasn’t one of them so I picked the snake up. Since it was chilly out the snake was fairly lethargic and docile. I got a chance to show the kids the snake up close and we talked about warm-blooded vs cold-blooded and how the snake uses his tongue to help him “see.” They even touched and held him.
The next obvious question the kids wanted to know was “Can we keep him?” Sorry kids, I know your mother and that’s never going to happen. We released the snake away from our house and watched him glide off into the woods.
It turned out to be a halfway decent afternoon. I got to teach the kids about snakes and a snake gave me a second chance to be a better dad.
Originally appeared on Welcome to My Circus.
Photo: Flickr/Hello Swanny