I stood in the kitchen scolding my 9-year-old son. I wanted him to understand the times we were living in and the value of money. My lecture was accusatory and went on for several minutes. By my reaction, you would have thought he had embezzled money. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I was actually lecturing him because he accidentally dropped his fork in the garbage can.

Once again, I had overreacted. I suspect most parents can relate to times like this. Parents overreact in the heat of the moment often, but when we do, we lose the possibility of having a teachable moment with our children. Here are 4 times most dads overreact.

1. Dads overreact when their kids bring home a bad grade.

Every dad wants his kids to do their best and earn good grades. Our society often focuses too much on earning a good grade and not enough on character development. Grades are important, but education is more about who they become in the process. If your children bring home a bad grade, it’s a good opportunity to coach them on how to improve and how to learn from their mistakes. Instead of losing your cool when your kids come home with a bad grade, use it as an opportunity to help them identify ways they can implement better study habits in that subject.