Just Spit on It!

When my son, little P, started walking/running, we had to deal with the inevitable drama that surrounded his frequent falls.  I was bound and determined to ignore my maternal instinct to run for him EVERYTIME he found himself on the ground.  Rather, I wanted to give him room to stand back up, dust himself off, and keep going, reassuring him the whole time that he could do it!

I quickly noticed how my reaction directly effected his reaction.  If I looked worried when he fell, he'd cry.  If I looked at him, smiled, and said, "uh oh!  Its okay, get back up!" he'd smile, get back up, and keep moving.  Mommy lesson learned, have control over your facial expressions! 

So, when that first big fall came, the one with blood, I was amazed at how my husband handled it.  He took the same approach that we had taken on the little falls.  He scooped my son up, put him on the picnic table, and told him to spit on it.  GROSS!  Well, it worked.  Little P spit on his boo-boo to 'clean it' and magically felt all better.  Despite the fact that it did actually hurt and needed a bandaid, my husband was able to dedramatize the situation.

As simple as falling down is, especially when your toddler is learning to walk, there is definitely something to be said for learning how your own reactions can either dramatize or deflate a situation.  Our kids watch us with great intensity.  They see everything that we do.  It is in these lessons, that we realize that we have the opportunity to teach self control and confidence even in the simplest of moments.