Ouch.
Jonah "crashed" Manny a few weeks ago. This was Manny's first real injury, though it ended up being relatively minor. I had been trying to get out the door with the boys for a little pre-dinner park play, when Jonah basically laid down on Manny and then steamrolled him ("crashing" is a very specific action for Jonah). Luckily, it was really only Manny's face and mouth that hit the floor, not his teeth. Jonah knew that he was in trouble when he saw my reaction, immediately going to his room when I told him to while I called my mom (who used to work as a dental hygienist) to re-check basic tooth trauma information. Manny ended up being consolable, though it did take a little bit longer than usual, and we ended up going to the park anyway -- I think it had been an all-day-inside day, and we all needed to go out! I made mild attempts to hide the blood on Manny's shirt from other parents at the park, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth worrying over too much.
(Incidentally, Manny's shirt says "Mean Monday". It was, in fact, a Monday, and, I fear, a bit mean for poor Manny.)
I remember quite clearly Jonah's first big "ouchie". He was just starting to walk and tripped and smacked his head on the corner of a square table leg. A bump formed immediately and the skin stretched so tight over it that it ended up splitting open and bleeding a bit. That was, of course, very sad, but the difference this time is that Manny didn't do this to himself. It was a willfull act on Jonah's part, however low his comprehension of his own culpability and responsibility may be. Because Manny is mobile and clearly not a baby in the 3-month-old sense, Jonah tends to think of him as more of a playmate than he actually is. It's hard not to get upset with Jonah when he does this sort of thing ("crashing" is not entirely uncommon in our house), and it's hard to find the balance between realizing that Jonah doesn't understand the full implications of Manny's size and letting him off the hook altogether. Often, Jonah's misbehavior towards Manny seems to come about when my attention is directed elsewhere; in such cases, misbehavior is completely an attention-getting device. With two boys, I know that I should be prepped for such bruises and blood to happen every once in awhile, though I hope that there are no more until Manny can rough Jonah up a little himself.
(Incidentally, Manny's shirt says "Mean Monday". It was, in fact, a Monday, and, I fear, a bit mean for poor Manny.)
I remember quite clearly Jonah's first big "ouchie". He was just starting to walk and tripped and smacked his head on the corner of a square table leg. A bump formed immediately and the skin stretched so tight over it that it ended up splitting open and bleeding a bit. That was, of course, very sad, but the difference this time is that Manny didn't do this to himself. It was a willfull act on Jonah's part, however low his comprehension of his own culpability and responsibility may be. Because Manny is mobile and clearly not a baby in the 3-month-old sense, Jonah tends to think of him as more of a playmate than he actually is. It's hard not to get upset with Jonah when he does this sort of thing ("crashing" is not entirely uncommon in our house), and it's hard to find the balance between realizing that Jonah doesn't understand the full implications of Manny's size and letting him off the hook altogether. Often, Jonah's misbehavior towards Manny seems to come about when my attention is directed elsewhere; in such cases, misbehavior is completely an attention-getting device. With two boys, I know that I should be prepped for such bruises and blood to happen every once in awhile, though I hope that there are no more until Manny can rough Jonah up a little himself.
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