Good Catch!

In healthcare, we celebrate reporting of errors or “near misses” through a “good catch” award. We award these certificates to staff that catch a potential error or safety issue before it actually happens. An example may be a mislabeled medication that was recognized before administered to the patient or a piece of broken equipment which was removed prior to the start of the surgery. These reports often result in prevention of a high-risk, sometimes even deadly error. 

So often as a parent, I recognize opportunities to implement a “good catch” award for my fellow moms and pops. There are situations that I catch on a daily basis that call for a celebration; not for my children’s mishaps, but for my ninja-like spidey senses that catch the “whoops” before it happens. Let me set the stage…

Last night was bath night in our home. Bath night is an adventure involving multiple moving naked bodies, high-splash zones, and an incredible level of chaos. This particular bath night had an added challenge of limited staffing. My husband was out of the country which meant I was leading the team solo. 

My first two procedures moved along swimmingly. Liam’s bath was spa-like, filled with cute baby feet and sweet-smelling soap. Camden worked independently which always make his showers incredibly easy and quick. The most challenging endeavor was approaching: a sweet but sassy curly-haired girl requiring lots of supervision and deep conditioner. 

Elliott was doing great in getting ready for her shower. She took off her clothes and was streaking through the hallway to her destination. She seemed to be moving particularly quickly but my mind was occupied as I was putting pajamas on Liam. We finally came around the corner to find Elliott jumping into the running shower with my new leather shoes on her feet. How she found my shoes in the past 60 seconds… I’ll never know. What provoked her to put them on and jump into the shower… again, forever a mystery. But I had somehow lunged into the bathroom with Liam in my arms, grabbed Elliott, and scooped her out of the tub- shoes unharmed. Of course, Liam and Elliott enjoyed deep belly-laughs from my quick reaction and high-pitched squeal. I’ll consider this fun and my safe shoes the celebrations of this particular “good catch”. 

Good catches can be anything and everything. Parents are superheros. While you may feel like you’re failing in this one moment, think back to how you just caught your son doing the potty dance in the playroom- getting him to the bathroom before his accident on your cute rug. Maybe it’s the child doing the chicken dance at the dining room table and you grabbing his glass before the inevitable milk puddle to come. Whatever your good catch is today, don’t react negatively. Find a way to fluff up your cape and celebrate your success!