(Trick)

When you wake up in the morning you never know if that day is going to contain a memory your children will take with them throughout their life or one you will. A while back we entered the slamming-doors stage of parenting. Two situations can occur when you're involved in this stage at this age. Scenario 1 is when a child is sent to their room for a certain misdemeanor and as a kind of backtalk I suppose they slam the door LOUD. I get it. I remember doing that myself. But then this child then opens the door and slams it again. Sometimes this even happens a third time. This happens or rather, has happened, in both the 2.5 & 4.5 age groups. What's that all about I do not know. I mean I do know it's attention seeking and such but really...

Scenario 2 is some sort of a chasing scene scenario arising from purposely excluding another or simply silliness. Either way this kind of door slamming instills fear in me. Fear that I have to deal with blood and the blood wrenching horror screams from a child associated. So I will not have that. Sometimes I realize parenting comes out of fear, well so too does discipline. I have explained to my children, those old enough to slam doors that they will not want to be responsible for their brother losing a finger for life, that those cannot be replaced, that they would feel horrible living with that... Realizing learning that Jerry Garcia lost half of his finger (at age 4) because of his older brother (while chopping wood) left an impression on me.

Little did I know I would have to extend this chatter to "same for throwing things". Now granted he didn't lose an eye or part of his finger. He didn't even need stitches. Well his pediatrician did want me to take a few hours off of each of our lives for 1 friggin stitch. New House rule: No hospital visit unless at least 2 are needed. Brady is healing very nicely after catching a ricocheted off a rock glass fish? in the head. His battle wound may or may not stay with him forever. The stomachache I had over it though will be a feeling I'll be reminded about time and time again.

(Treat)