Recently, I read in Newsweek about a creative solution to a problem, which, strangely enough, has improved my parenting.

On April 11, the cargo ship Maersk Alabama was under siege from Somali pirates. They attacked the ship on April 8 and Richard Phillips, the ship's captain, was being held hostage on a lifeboat.

Navy SEALs aboard the USS Bainbridge were monitoring the situation, which worsened by the minute.

Then an important piece of information surfaced: The pirates had run out of the narcotic leaf they chewed and were experiencing withdrawl symptoms. The resulting cravings made them not only erratic but extremely seasick. Reportedly, an intelligence officer came up with a creative solution.

Newsweek reported: "The SEALs aboard the USS Bainbridge shortened the tow rope to the lifeboat containing the captain and his captors until the boat was tossing and wallowing in the ship's wake." This violent motion had the pirates leaning over the side of the lifeboat to take care of business, allowing the SEALs to take care of their business.

(Navy snipers fired simultaneous shots under the cover of night, killing the three pirates holding Phillips.)

To say this incident positively affected my abilities as a mother may seem extreme, but it reminded me of something I often forget — the creative solution.

Rather than having the SEALs go in with guns blazing from the start, they stopped, thought about the situation, utilized key information, then found an appropriate solution.

As parents, it's easy to react to situations (especially in summer when children surround you every minute of the day). This "shortening of the tow rope" reminded me to consider useful information and then get creative.

For example, in my uber-structured mind, the ideal summer would entail each child learning five to 10 skills they need to learn now to be working and responsible adults in the near future. It's somewhat scary that this thought made me giddy. However, this giddiness is not easily passed on to my children.

So instead of going in Rambo style from the start ("This is your chore list, get busy"), I capitalized on a useful piece of information. They are obsessed and somewhat envious about Boy Scout stuff because of their brother's summer job as a Scout counselor.

Then came the creative solution: Skill badges. For each skill they learn, such as yard work, sewing, meal preparation, etc., they pass off a skill badge (beginner and advanced) — akin to Scouting merit badges. This earns them something fabulous — 25 tokens to a fun game place, beads for a bracelet, etc.

Rewards are stretched out to encompass a great deal of work (but you didn't hear that from me).