Of skinned knees and other boo-boos
If you have a kid then boo-boos are going to happen.
Toddler boo-boos can be fixed with a kiss. For the pre-school and kindergarten crowd a Band-aid can fix most anything. I know that sounds kind of silly, but trust me on this one. Band-aids fix bruises as well as hangnails and skinned knees.
When I was a kid any broken skin was treated with alcohol. It hurt and I hated it. But back then (you know, in the dark ages), that was probably the best way to make sure the germs were killed.
We have better ways now. Much better ways. My favorite is Dermoplast. It’s a spray, so you don’t have to actually touch the boo-boo, and it deadens it and kills germs at the same time. It’s also kind of oily making it great for skinned knees since it keeps it moisturized so it doesn’t hurt to bend it. I consider it the perfect way to clean and care for a boo-boo. (Just watch your overspray or the Band-aid won’t stick)
Of course, my daughter still thinks it’s terrible. Wanna know what her complaint is? “No mommy no, it’s going to be COLD!!!!!” Yes, it is cold when it leaves the can. Horror of horrors.
But, there are no tears, and there is no pain. Just complaints that it is cold.
We’ve also had to ice things down a few times to keep any swelling down. I know some people use bags of frozen peas, but we just use crushed ice in a ziplock and wrapped with a towel. Ironically, she likes having cold ice on her boo-boos, it’s just the cold Dermoplast she complains about.
Our kids are going to get bumps and bruises and skinned knees. It’s part of childhood, nothing we can do about it. But we can be there to fix them as best we can.
My dad kept band-aids in his wallet. All of my friends knew this and someone would hit him up for a band-aid at least once a week. Even once I made it to high school it was surprising how many of my friends needed a band-aid for something or other. I even remember going to watch my boyfriend play baseball in high school and my dad giving him a Band-aid for a blister on his foot. Following my dad’s tradition, I have a few Band-aids in my wallet. I haven’t needed one of them yet, but they are there.
April 26th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Just this morning, I made a mental note to myself to buy more band-aids. I noticed that the cupboard where I keep them was full of band-aid wrappers, just strewn around. Apparently, my child doesn’t always “ask” me for them, rather he just helps himself! I keep them in my purse too. It’s amazing what a band-aid will cure!
May 4th, 2006 at 6:16 am
I thought this was a very sweet post- it has the seeds of a great article for a parenting magazine or for father’s day.
I’m always amazed at the power of a bandaid, I think to some kids it represents a physical acknowledgement of the emotional or physical pain of the event.
One of my friends accidentally punctured the nail bed of her finger while using a sewing machine. The pain was so immense, she saw stars. But her ‘boo boo’ was just had a tiny hole in the middle of the nail on her index finger and a little drop of blood. She was laughingly indignant, saying that for that amount of pain she surely ‘deserved’ some kind of dramatic wound, like a black and blue nail! She had to settle for a band-aid. :-)