Bumps, bruises & a cut -- toddler style

Bumps & Bruises

Every good (or even mediocre) parent dreads toddler falls. There is a reason why toddler home safety is such a big industry. But no matter how much we baby proof or watch over, there are going to be times when your toddler falls. The good news is that kids are generally pretty resilient. The bad news is that their parents often are not.

Toddlers seem to go through some tough times when it comes to bumps and bruises. Daphne’s in the middle of that time now and sometimes her falls are cringe-worthy. Most often times, the falls are harder on us.

While Daphne is at home we try not to react when she falls down or bumps her head. Unless….we are witness to those slow-motion movements (you know, the kind from the movies that always end up in certain death or at least dismemberment) that could possibly result in her crash landing on her noggin – that’s a whole different set of reactions - especially on our hardwood floors. We’ve found that if we react by creating a cringing expression / sound it sometimes makes the injury worse than it really is.

While daycare is where most of her trips/stumbles/falls happen we are not witness to them – but we are on the receiving end of the phone call about the fall, the severity of the bruise, bump or scrape and how she has recovered…and those phone calls are so hard to hear, especially when we aren’t the ones there to cuddle and comfort her after her fall; rest assured, she is in the most capable and caring hands - next to mommy and daddy.

 

Corner of her left eye; one of the falls/stumbles at daycare

Cut

We weren’t sure how Daphne would handle sitting still for a period of time, much less having a stranger playing with her hair. As we found out, she took her first haircut very seriously! Unlike her normal chatty self, she patiently sat in the chair and intensely studied the stylist during her short makeover; no fuss, no crying, no worries.

We went to a kid only salon for her first cut because we wanted the experience. They give you a First Haircut certificate with a lock of hair (um, yeah, not sure what we're going to do with that!). They have flat screens with cartoons at each chair. They have buckets of suckers and animal crackers, just in case your child needs/wants them. And they have stylists who work their magic in a few minutes. 

 

Ready to get her first hair cut!

Checking out her surroundings; while holding daddy's hand

Letting Miss Kim work her magic

Just a trim here and there; holding mommy's hand

Hey, what are you doing back there?

Daphne's curls where emphasized with a bit of curl gel and a hair dryer. She enjoyed it. 

All finished. And, yes, Daphne wanted BOTH hair clips!

Her certificate

Great Day!!