[blparent] when children get hurt.

[Shannan Zinck]

My son now 3 is also VERY dramatic. His moods change like the wind. I too
need to know for my own sanity wether he is really hurt or not. We always
just never made a big deal when he fell or bumped himself. I would sit him
down with me and hold his hands and tell him to squeeze my hands as a point
of contact, and to breathe deeply. Once calmed it gives the opportunity for
a good exam. If it's really serious calming for one thing will not happen
no matter how hard you try, Because we treated his little accidents as
nothing major when he was younger now we are able to know when he is really
hurt because he rarely reacts to the small things. He still freaks when he
is tired though and for that we came up with a nifty thing, When he
couldn't talk we got him to take our hand and put in on where he hurt and
I'd blow on it to make it feel better, blowing can bring some physical
relief to a bruise or small cut. Don't know why but it does, I even do this
to myself and it helps. Now that he can talk he tells us what happened
without getting upset because we were calm when he was little. We never got
frustrated when he paniced we just would talk to him calmly. One other
thing we do is when he falls or bangs himself and we are sure it's no big
deal we just say "shake it off" and he juggles around like a maniac which
gets him laughing and forgets about it. To date we've only had to use 2
bandaids and they were for real cuts. For us converting the dramatic flare
was beneficial. Instead of freaking he shakes and jumps around. Still drama
but it makes people laugh and he LOVES to make people laugh. Suggestion use
his personality and help him channel the dramatic flare. Even if it's
serious the worst thing a parent can do is freak out with their child, they
are looking to us to be strong and calming, If we get upset with them it
tends to make it worse. As parents we are their rock. With small things
when he was younger he never really reacted but, now he gets silly. Works
for us. LOL

-- 
Shannan Zinck
Survival is letting GOD take over!!!