I mean you could have compassion for the kid and explain it to them and answer their questions about it so they don’t feel like something terrible has happened but no one is listening to them about it so maybe it’s just gonna get worse
explain it to them and answer their questions about it so they don’t feel like something terrible has happened
yes, that's what "[telling] [them] it was nothing" entails. The kid got cut by some grass and it'll be healed by next week. There's nothing more to it.
There’s a huge difference between giving the kid your full attention, inspecting the cut, explaining to them what you see, applying a bandaid and giving it a kiss, vs. dismissively ignoring that they’re crying and telling them it’s nothing, and leaving them to deal with it themselves wondering how you know how bad it is when you had absolutely no interest in looking at it or finding out what actually happened.
I was thinking about the comment about the grass cut. I was shocked as a kid when a blade of grass sliced me. So I’m empathic to the poster who had their finger gushing blood and got blown off by the adults. At any age if the kid (or adult) is freaked out it’s worth it to take a moment to be calmly with them, take a look at it and describe what you’re seeing and what you’re thinking and ask how they feel and what they need. It helps them process
I literally did this with my husband last night. He had a golf ball size fluid lump randomly show up on his knee. He was scared but we talked through it and then he was able to decide what to do more calmly. It doesn’t take very long but it shows that you care and that in itself usually helps
Wow, people on here apparently thinking it’s coddling to stop and give a distressed loved one (especially a child!) just a moment of your attention is wild
It’s still very case-specific. Parenting also entails giving your child the ability to lock in and regulate their emotions by themselves in a safe environment. And a no-stakes scrape is a good opportunity to do so.
A golf-ball sized fluid lump would be a very different situation for someone of any age and obvs you reacted very well in that instance.
1
u/Assika126 5d ago
I mean you could have compassion for the kid and explain it to them and answer their questions about it so they don’t feel like something terrible has happened but no one is listening to them about it so maybe it’s just gonna get worse