An owie is always worse when they can see it

Kids are pretty resilient. We’ve had our fair share of accidents, spills and collisions over the years and try to quickly assess the situation and follow it with the direction to “shake it off” by literally shaking the part of the body that got a little banged up. 

But there are times that require intervention because the owie is making the kids uncomfortable or, *gasp* there is a pin prick size amount of blood at the site. And where there is blood there is 1) a demand for a bandaid – no not the regular kind, not the Inside Out kind, the Cars kind. No not that size, I want Mater…dang you bandaid makers of the world!!!; and 2) so. many. tears. 

I get it. Owies are no fun and watching the blood go from inside your body to outside is not a good feeling. But with kids it reaches a whole new level. The thing I’ve learned is that an owie is always worse when they can see it. With that said, here are some things to consider when you find yourself in that fast moment of seeing the blood before your kid.

1. If you can get to the owie right after it happened, it might not be bleeding yet. This will assure your kiddo that things are fine and that the owie can be fixed with a cuddle and no limbs will be falling off today. 
2. If you saw your child fell on cement or on rocks or something, you might just want to assume bleeding is a possibility and grab a bandaid or two just in case. Falling on grass or a carpeted floor is less likely to cause an outward injury.
3. If/when you see the blood, intervene asap. Grab the bandaid you got just in case, wipe off the cut quickly and stick the bandaid on. You will still get some tears and probably a bit of a freakout moment, but you will be prepared and hopefully that will cut down on their recovery time. 

​*Be warned though. A bandaid is essentially grounds for limping and being unable to do basic tasks like cleaning up their toys or putting their plate in the dishwasher so the sooner you can get the bandaid off, the better*