Childhood bumps
What you need to know:
- Once when the power had just gone off I followed my sister out of a room and she pulled the door back in the pitch darkness. I could not see since it was dark so I rammed into the door edge with remarkable force.
- They say men should not cry so I did not but I did scream like I had been paid to do so. The toddler went to bed and woke up a brand new man that had quickly forgotten the woes of the previous day.
I have this set of dumbbells with interchangeable ring weights that I use to try and keep fit. The toddler is at a stage where he copies everything he sees me doing so he likes to do some childlike workouts whenever he sees me exercising. All this he does with an air of excitement like working out is something remarkably fun to do.
Two days ago we had an accident. After one of these workouts I took a step backwards to rest the dumbbells on the floor and unbeknownst to me the toddler was right behind me. The backward movement created impact of the weight’s steel rod with the toddler’s forehead.
The sound of the sickening low thud when the weight hit him made me stop in my tracks. I knew it was bad. He cried with loud sobs as I put the weights on the floor and quickly scooped him up. I hurried to the kitchen carrying him while rubbing the goose egg on his forehead that had formed so quickly. After retrieving some ice cubes and making a cold compress I held it onto his forehead as he continued screaming his head off.
His mother observed all this quietly, probably secretly blaming me but also acknowledging that accidents do happen. She probably let me off the hook because I was trying to do my best to handle the situation. Gradually the sobbing stopped and he quieted down. The cold compress kept the goose egg from growing any larger and soothed him.
Something happens within you when you unknowingly hurt your child. It is very easy to take yourself on a guilt trip especially when your partner ourightly calls you out on carelessness and makes a big production about the unfortunate situation. But accidents do happen and children often fall and bump their heads all by themselves. As a child, I had plenty of these.
Once when the power had just gone off I followed my sister out of a room and she pulled the door back in the pitch darkness. I could not see since it was dark so I rammed into the door edge with remarkable force.
They say men should not cry so I did not but I did scream like I had been paid to do so. The toddler went to bed and woke up a brand new man that had quickly forgotten the woes of the previous day.
