quick-fingersDaddy it hurts!
They're so cute.
Bumps, bruises, scrapes and cuts are the destruction of a child's day. They'll coming screaming to us because they need lovin' and they are afraid. We hold them and cuddle them and tell them that everything will be okay, but is that all we can do? The answer to that is no.
When we, as adults, go to a doctor's office, don't we want to feel like something is being done to either fix our problem or find out what it is? When we do not receive this type of treatment, we feel as if the doctor is a quack, or that they think we're just faking it. It is no different from our children; they need to know that everything is okay and that we will nurture and nurse them back to health.
Just yesterday my 3 year old fell on the rocks and scraped up her knee. It was a travesty; it really was. She was distraught and panicky. I picked her up, gave her all the kisses she needed, and then I cuddled her tight. Then I sat her on the bed and asked her: "are we gonna' need to cut it off?" She looked more panicked and said "NO!" That was my plan; get her to think about something worse and then she would be okay. I replied with "okay, but if we aren't going to then we'll need to clean it and give you some owie medicine so it'll heal up, okay?" She said "OK!"
I'm in nursing school so this is my forte'. I grabbed the blood pressure kit, the peroxide, cotton balls, triple antibiotic ointment, and some cute Scooby-doo band-aids. The pain was already beginning to wash from her face. I took her blood pressure for effect (I didn't really, but I went through the steps). I asked her if she liked bubbles, which of course I already knew the answer to that. I told her it would be cold and to watch for the bubbles. She watched as I poured some peroxide on her 'gash' (of course it wasn't a gash, but she thought it was). The peroxide worked it's bubbling magic to the amazement of my 3 yr. old. She was laugh-crying, but she was watching with amazement. I put on the ointment. I topped all of it off with the Scooby-Doo band-aid, and she said that it was all better.
My daughter loves taking medicine, because she knows it makes her better. Normally it's Tylenol, but I don't believe in taking medicine when it is unnecessary, but in this case it was most definitely necessary in her eyes. She said "I need my medicine." I said "okay baby, I'll get your medicine." I proceeded to the kitchen for a spoon and some cran-grape juice. I brought it to her on the spoon and instructed her that she 'had to drink it all.' She said, with a whimper in her voice, "ok." She drank the medicine and was up and running once more.
Children need our love. They need our attention. That is why we are there; we are their caregivers. We must go the extra mile to make sure that they know they are safe. They rely on us for everything, and we are under the obligation of human nature to do our best for them. No matter how often we get completely frustrated with our children (and we do. . . well, I do anyway) we still have to be there for them through every aspect of their life. We are their heroes for the rest of their lives. We love them and they love us.
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Parent Adventure