So, conventional wisdom dictates that we don't intervene with our kids minor squabbles unless the kids "are bleeding". But what conventional wisecrackers and I DON'T have in common is the definition of BLEEDING!
Yes, should one of my kids, or one of their friends, come running to me with blood seeping, oozing or dripping from a wound or orifice, I am more than capable of responding accordingly. My response is to apply pressure and move towards a sink or phone...sink if it's superficial...phone if it looks worse!
But my own children respond much differently to the question "are you bleeding". They know that this question has far less to do with the physical presence of blood; it has more to do with a feeling.
Just now #1 came down from bed to ask me something. He turned to walk back upstairs and I saw him limping a little bit. I said "#1, what's with the limping?" he said "I'm limping but I'm not bleeding".
He meant that he's got a sore muscle but it's not a bleed.
My instinct would be to tell him to do a poke right away...infuse and avoid something worse. But he needs to learn his own limits.
#2 was jumped by the neighbor's dog yesterday. The scratch is up near his eye. The neighbor and my son came to the door to show me the injury...it was fine...no harm no foul. The dog is a pit bull that the boys have been around for months. The boys won't be near that dog in the future.
Um. Pit bulls....kids? Not good. Pit bull....kids with hemophilia? Bad joke.
I'm glad that when I say "are you bleeding" the boys know what I mean.
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4 comments:
How old were #1 and #2 when they understood "are you bleeding?" I'm almost positive my son does not know what an internal bleed feels like. Any advice - one parent to another?
I'm not sure I can pick an age. We would evaluate bruises and bonks and talk about how they were feeling. The older members of the community often describe bleeds as tingly and warm. So, we ask the boys if their bruises felt tingly. We also encourage them to ask older folks what bleeds feel like. They are on prophylaxis so their experience with bleeds is VERY limited...we worry sometimes that they won't recognize a bleed when it happens, but we do what we can to give them language and teach them how to describe their pain and discomfort.
We're on prophy also.. never had a bleed except for diagnosis - mouth bleeds are messy :)
Thanks for the language tips - keep 'em comming.
It should be legal to shoot dead any dog not on a leash and not on its owner's property. Especially pit bulls. Were I in your situation, I would demand the dog be exterminated.
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