For years, people have tuned into The Andy Griffith Show for a taste of small-town life and moments of hilarity for Sheriff Taylor. Besides that, another important action has been taking place. There are a number of interactions between Andy, played by Andy Griffith, and Opie, played by Ron Howard. When watching these moments, it is clear that Andy loves his son. He knows that he has a duty to the City of Mayberry. But he’s also not going to forget about being a good parent. Let’s look at a couple of examples of parenting from Sheriff Taylor himself.

Sheriff Taylor Meets Mr. McBeevee

One time, Opie met Mr. McBeevee, the man who climbed the trees and made smoke come out of his ears. Opie saw this and became fascinated by him. McBeevee even gave Opie a quarter, which Opie told his father about at the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Taylor, though, had a hard time believing his son…at least for a little bit. He reminded Opie that it was not a good idea to lie and tell untruths. Opie insisted that there was a real McBeevee. It got so bad that Andy simply asked his son to tell him the truth. In the end, Andy chose to believe that Opie was telling the truth. Andy went out to the tree area where Opie called out for Mr. Beevee. This time, Andy loudly pleads to see McBeevee. Soon after, McBeevee calls down the telephone pole and ends up meeting Andy. By golly, you’ve never seen Andy so glad to meet him. The parenting lesson here is that Andy lets his child know that he trusts and believes him.

Andy Teaches Opie A Lesson About Matches

On another occasion, Opie becomes Keeper of the Flame for his club. This is a highly prestigious role but one that finds Opie in charge of lighting a torch with matches. When he gets home, Opie hides them in his room. A fire broke out at Jubal’s farm, the place where Opie’s club meets. Jubal believes that the boys started the fire in his barn. But that didn’t happen. Aunt Bee, while cleaning up in there, finds the matchbox. Sheriff Taylor is home and Aunt Bee calls him to come upstairs. When he gets there, she shows him the matchbox. A house rule is no matches in Opie’s room, so he broke that one. Andy confronts his son about them. Opie hesitates to answer, so Andy sends Opie to his room without dinner. Later on, Sheriff Taylor has a heart-to-heart talk with Opie. In the end, Andy offers a matchless solution to the situation: a bright lamp. As it turns out, Andy also was a Keeper of the Flame when he was a young boy. The parenting lesson here is that Andy listened to Opie and found a safer way for his son to stay in his club.