And so the story goes...Noach was the one righteous man in an evil generation. Hashem commanded Noach to build an ark high up on the hill away from the water. Noach spent 120 years building the ark. People asked Noach why he was building a boat and he told them that there would be a flood if they didn't mend their evil ways.  The people did not do teshuva and so Hashem brought a flood for 40 days and 40 nights. Hashem made a rainbow as a sign of His covenant that He would never destroy all of life again by water. And, even now, when one sees a rainbow, it is a sign from Hashem to do teshuva and correct one's mistakes.

Oftentimes, a child makes a mistake only to receive a negative or angry response from a parent or caregiver. Of course, the adult is only trying to help the child learn more appropriate behavior or teach them how to do the right thing the next time. However, most likely, an angry response from an adult will only serve to cause anxiety and stress in the child, and in turn increase the child's unpleasant behavior, rather than eliminate it.

In Parashat Noach, Hashem could have chosen any kind of sign, like lightening or thunder, as a warning to us to correct our mistakes, but He chose a beautiful, colorful rainbow. Hashem chose a sign that makes us feel good, calm and happy and not one that makes us feel that he is angry. Hashem is communicating with us very much like we communicate with the young children in the Early Childhood Program when they make a mistake. We approach them with connection, understanding and gentleness and say things like, "You made a mistake, and that is okay. You can learn from it. How might you do it differently next time?" 

We learn from Hashem and from this week's parasha that we are the rainbow for our children.