Tag Archives: toddlers

Blaming Children’s Picture Book Industry for Toddlers Injury

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Previously printed in KC Parent Magazine (June 2009)~ Nurse Mommy

OK, someone needs to say it, so I’ll step up. My three-year-old daughter is a genius! I know you are thinking, “Just another Mom who is blinded by the love of their child,” but she has talent beyond anyone her age.   I am referring to my weekend where my darling toddler decided to pick up a bee.   Apparently, you CAN actually pick up a bee.   I did not know that.   Not that I would recommend it for the outcome was terribly loud and chalked full of incomprehensible conversation. However, the pain only lasted a few hours and when she was over the trauma; she poetically turned a negative into a positive by saying, “I watered all the flowers with my tears.”   (Insert an audible “ahhh” here.)

Now I don’t blame my daughter for being curious or myself for not teaching her about the dangers of bee petting.   I repeatedly told her to stay away from wasps and bees for they can hurt you, but why would you think a child would want to pick up a bee, or let alone, be able to do so? My beef is with the Children’s Picture Book industry.   They are the source of my daughter’s fearlessness and I think they need to be held accountable for their actions.

For months at bedtime, I would read to my daughter books illustrating bees with wide adorable faces and inviting eyes.   They were loveable and funny and some of them could even dance.   As the theatrical and passionate mother I am, I would make silly buzzing noises and tickle her whenever the word “bee” appeared.   Don’t you think that sounds like something a toddler would love?   What kind of mother gets her child excited to be tickled by a venomous airborne bug?!   Heaven forbid, you be scared of something which sends a barb through your flesh when intimidated.   I mean really!

Let this be a warning to all of you parents of young children.   Don’t forget when you are cuddled up with your child at night, reading picture books containing darling animals such as snakes, spiders, bears and raccoons, to make sure and teach them while these can be sweet and friendly in stories, that if you come in contact with one of them, STAY AWAY!!!…and definitely don’t try to tickle it!

Do you Want Some Cheese with That Whine? (W.06.09.10)

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I don’t know if it is because I am the mother of two young, passionate girls who have a flair for the drama, or if all parents experience this; but when does the whining STOP?!  It is the #1 childhood characteristic which makes me want to go running for the hills with my husband’s noise canceling headphones suctioned to my ears, join a group of mute meditators who live in tree houses and sleep in hammocks while reading Walt Whitman.  Not that I’ve ever thought this through before…

As a mom, I do let my emotions get me sometimes and inform the girls they need to stop whining at that exact moment.  It unfortunately is a little louder request than I intend.  Actually, the last time I lost it and pleaded for the whining to cease, they both stopped and started laughing.  So I guess my loss of control worked in a backwards way.  We all laughed and went on with our day.

As a nurse, however, I know better than that.  I realize yelling at your child to stop whining does not work.  The child is looking for a reaction from the adult and the yelling definitely counts as a reaction – a poor one, but a reaction.

There is a pretty successful way to cut out the majority of whining, but all caretakers need to be consistent with this method.   When the child starts whining, calmly look at the child confused and say, “I just can’t understand you when you talk like that.”  Treat the whining like they are speaking in Tongues or another language, and ask them to try it again so you can understand them.  The only way this works is if you do this EVERY time a teensy whine comes through their lips.  When the child changes her/his tone of voice to a more tolerable one, you can answer their question or help them out showing them praise with a smile, pat or hug.

This isn’t easy because it takes MUCH repetition and will-power from the parent, but you can do it.  May the “whining poltergeists” in your home be exorcised with these few steps; and the darling, little sweeties return to your dinner table, their car-seats while traveling across town, and when passing the toy section at ANY store.  It will make life much more pleasant – I promise!

©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.

Happy Belated Earth Day! (m04.26.10)

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Just wanted to wish everyone a happy belated Earth Day! Here in Kansas City, there were festivals and tree hugging events and flower plantings galore. The lines at the flower stores were out of control; but people were just so gosh darn pleased to be holding their purchases, no one minded. All customers eyeing other’s carts full of vibrant colors and earthy smells.

While standing in line, smiling people were speaking of when to plant, how to plant, what to plant…I had one gal tell me that if I “didn’t start upping my manure usage, I might not be able to produce.” Now that sounded a tad personal to me, but I let it go, because she was so gosh darn pleased to be educating me.

Now as I write this, I have added a few flowers to the earth, enriched my soil, and am listening to the rain water my new flowers and fill my rain barrels. I love free water!

Actually, I spent some time educating my young children about the difference between free water and the kind you have to pay for. I think they got it and are glad THEY don’t have to pay for it. Educating our children about why Earth Day is so important is a new concept. They didn’t do this when I was a kid. We as adults are teaching ourselves and passing on tips and other gems to our offspring.

Here are my medical words of advice to share with your children:
1) Don’t drink from the rain barrel. The water landed on the roof, came through the gutters and how often do you sterilize your gutters?
2) Worms are fun, but not for eating or feeding to your siblings. Just toss them back into your compost pile and put them back to work!
3) Children, don’t eat the food scraps off the compost pile. There are better choices indoors in the kitchen. Just ask and adult for assistance…
4) When recycling glass, your children shouldn’t break the glass before sending it to the Ripple Glass company bins. It does make a cool noise, but is not fun to pull shards of glass out of any part of your body.
5) How many toddlers does it take to change an incandescent light bulb to a compact fluorescent bulb? None….keep your kids away from electrical devices!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend outdoors! Don’t forget the sunscreen on the kids and keep babies under 6 months out of the sun entirely.

©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.

First Trip to the Big Screen is a Big Experience (03.10.10)

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If the hairs on your arms magically rise at the thought of taking preschoolers to the movie theater, I assume you, too, have experienced those joys.

I would have guessed most parents wait to share the cinematic experience with their kids when they are in grade school, but that would be far off. I saw kids of all ages at a showing of Disney’s latest princess movie and during the previews, I even saw a mother carrying a diaper and wipes as she hauled her 4-month-young infant to the powder room to “freshen up.”

Now as my husband will attest, I am a huge Disney fan. When he married me, he married my complete Disney collection. It is no surprise my children appreciate Disney movies, often when I have to get anything done. Sound familiar? Waiting for the newest rated G princess movie took us four years, but we knew it would be a hit with the girls. We took a break from our financial planning to introduce our children to cinema on the big screen.

My husband decided to drop me off at the door to buy the tickets because we could see from the parking lot that it might be a challenge. Two days later my poor husband found a parking place and trudged our preschool-aged girls in parkas and boots through the snowy lots, dodging drivers who were trying to run over my family in their hunt for a parking space.

By the time everyone got through the doors, my family looked tired, cold, yet excited to experience something big; a new adventure.

I put on my best supportive mommy face, embraced my 3-year-old with my knees while she yelled, “Happy Birthday, Mommy!” — what she says to anyone when she excitedly greets them — and whispered to their little red noses, “It’s sold out.”

This brings me to another topic. Assigned seating at a movie theater? Uh, excuse me? Now since we hadn’t watched a movie in a big cineplex since…well, I think it was when “National Treasure” first hit the screen, we didn’t know seats were actually assigned to you. I guess when you start charging Sprint Center prices for a movie, you need to fancy it up a bit. Watch out. In the near future, they might start charging Arrowhead prices for parking.

Luckily, we were able to get superb seats for an hour later, so we packed up the limo and drove to the nearest library to run off some steam. Thankfully, in Johnson County there are almost as many libraries as drugstores, so we didn’t have to go far. We read some books, played with toys, jumped on furniture and checked out the bathroom several times.

After locating my children’s coats, shoes and socks, we traveled back to the theater just before show time. I now understand how great it is to have assigned seats if you purchase them in advance. No need to get there early. We grabbed our popcorn, which was literally the size of our 4-year-old’s torso, and watched a delightful movie filled with beautiful music and voices. The girls even got up and danced a bit. They were pretty jacked up on pink lemonade. I only missed a small portion of the movie on the bathroom excursions.

Our first movie theater experience was a family bonding moment that won’t soon be forgotten. As we drove away, I turned to see all smiling faces. Of course, we will only be able to afford to take our entire family once a year. Who knew you had to start saving money now for when they are teenagers and want to frequent the movies. I can’t imagine how much a ticket will cost in 10 years. Note to self: Find out if 529B plan considers movie tickets a qualified withdrawal.

Stacey Hatton is an Overland Park pediatric nurse and freelance writer. Her blog, which was recommended by the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop, is at nursemommylaughs.com.

©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.

Toddler Temper-Tantrums are F-U-N!!

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As many of you know…potty training is such a joy. My husband and I decided it would be far less stress to NOT dictate when our kids were to be potty-trained. Our oldest was trained at 3 years without any battles and without the stress I hear from so many parents. Forcing your child to be potty-trained by a certain time is as “out” as spanking is now a days. And if you have independent children (aka stubborn as all get out!), you know forcing just doesn’t work.

Our youngest (she is three) will “peeps” and “poo” (these are the correct medical terms) in the toilet when placed there and needs to go, but would rather “go” in her pull-ups instead of asking to go to the restroom. In the days of cloth only diapers, kids were floating like a buoy atop their wet diapers, which I’m sure wasn’t pleasant. I can’t remember that feeling personally, but can only imagine the discomfort. But with today’s wonderful wicking of the wetness, my kids don’t care if their diaper weighs as much as a small Yorkie. I would think the competition set by the older child would help us with our young one, but she isn’t into competing or even wanting to attend the game.

So today when we were at the library, formerly a tranquil place – that is until my children discovered it, my youngest decides to urinate in her Pull-up in front of the bathroom. She then announces to the patrons that she just went “pee-pee.” OK…fine. Pretty cute. Nevertheless, there are several problems with this scenario: ONE…she keeps repeating this announcement with the energy of a bullhorn and clarity of an operatic soprano. Minutes can feel like hours when it is your child. TWO…after she quits repeating her bodily functions, she decides the next thing to do is to scream comparable to a tornado siren. If you aren’t from the Midwest, just believe me, it is piercing. THREE…now I am always prepared for bathroom emergencies. This time, however, my supplies were in the car in the parking lot. No problem! I’ll just check out the books and return to the car for a quick change. This plan was not sufficient for my child who before this very moment could remain in a wet diaper all day. She decided that since she went “pee-pee” in the Young Adult book section, she needed to take off her clothing right there and change into a fresh pull-up in that same section. So the screaming started and continued while I tried to locate my library card, and then with the nimbleness that only adrenalin can suck away, tried to scan the truckload of books my children insisted on checking out. Of course the computer locked up and I couldn’t scan the last four books, but my child was a trooper and screamed all the way through the ever-patient librarian trying to assist me in a job that truly any sane person can do.

Just so you don’t think my child is a maniac and any different than any other three year old, she pulled it together when I suggested she could press the handicapped button that automatically opens the doors to the exit. She sucked up the tears, wiped them away with her parka sleeve and said, “Great Mommy! That would be fun!!” Tantrum #1 of the day complete.

©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.