A “formative experience” is usually an experience that we encounter as kids that forever impacts how we view the world. Things like going to baseball games with dad, cooking during the holidays with mom, or going camping for your first time are all wonderful examples of formative experiences.
Sadly, not all formative experiences are good.
A formative period of time or experience is one that has an important and lasting influence on a person’s character and attitudes. – Mobile Dictionary
Like we all know, life isn’t always great. As a result, those same formative experiences can take a negative twist. Experiencing a parental divorce or seeing a close friend die are all negative formative experiences.
Want to hear some good news? How you handle a bad experience has a lot to do with how impactful it is.
Stories like the one we have today are a beautiful example of what a little bit of patience and kindness can do in a child who just experienced something traumatic.
A first responder recently had his picture taken after his actions were seen following a large car crash.
On September 29th, a two-car collision happened at 8 pm on Broadwater Avenue in Montana. As they do, first responders rolled up and started helping out on the scene. It was during this time that the now-viral photo was snapped.
Ryan Benton is a firefighter from Billings Engine 4 and was one of the responders to the car accident.
The car accident wasn’t fatal, thankfully. Still, the cars were completely totaled and undrivable. While helping clean things up, Benton noticed that a little girl was on the scene and she had been involved in the accident.
As you could imagine, the little girl was scared and shaken up.
All she had to do was sit around while her parents dealt with the aftermath of the accident. That was when Benton saw her. Walking up, he gave a wonderful little bow to the girl and asked her a question that would light up her face.
With a bow, Benton asked the girl if he could read her a story from a book he brought along!
“Benton took it upon himself to read a story to the girl while her parents dealt with the accident,” – Billings Firefighters Media Coordinator Cameron Abell
For the little girl, it was a chance to calm down and forget what was going on for a moment.
“This allowed her to calm down and allowed the parents the ability to focus on getting some sense of normalcy back after a traumatic event like an accident.”
When a photo of the moment surfaced, the internet loved it.
It was sweet, kindhearted, and the perfect thing for the moment. Apparently, this is a common practice for the team up in Montana!
“The idea was anytime we are on an emergency with a child (medical emergency, fire, car accident, etc.) we can have something to give to the parents/child and help them have something to take their mind of the event,”
Whatever the reason, we love seeing it!
Make sure you check out the photo below!
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