Warm-weather parenting can be a hazardous sport – and the kids might get hurt, too
When two or more kids are together and the sun is shining, someone is bound to get hurt. That person is usually me.
Kids turn into wild creatures during the spring and a growing percentage of them may knock down a person without even noticing. I have not proven this research-wise, but I’m working on it while I lie on a picnic bench nursing my sore backside.
Even a nice, wholesome activity like flying paper airplanes can lead to trouble. The trouble is, if improperly aimed, at least one typically heads straight for the grownup’s left eye. During an art project, a microscopic scrap of paper may also lodge into an eye, requiring a doctor visit to pluck it out with fancy equipment. I hope this doesn’t make you paranoid, but it probably should.
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If water is involved during playtime, someone will whine about getting splashed in the face. This is nothing compared to the elbow that knocked into your side when you decided that racing at a pool party would be fun and also, a lesson in healthy competition. Unfortunately, the lesson is that not everybody can swim in a straight line.
Facing a swarm of feisty children on a playdate can be scarier than a swarm of wasps. Ironically, these same children are afraid of wasps, so they might troop back inside and make a beeline to the living room, where you thought you were safe. But you’re not safe because someone is still bouncing that basketball and another is carrying a snake.
Yes, spring is a happy time of change, renewal and growth. It is also a time for first-aid kits, safety gear and defense tactics enabling a parent to stay in one piece. Keeping routines going and reviewing the rules from time to time helps calm down the almost-summer excitement.
One might be tempted to place traffic signs like “yield” and “slow down” in strategic places like a playground or a hallway. These will be mowed down in the commotion, like your left knee, which now needs an ice pack.
Next, you, the injured victim, must limp to the kitchen to retrieve a second ice pack for the child who, giddy with all of this pent-up energy, just ran straight into a wall for absolutely no reason. At least it was the wall this time and not you.
Pam J. Hecht is a writer, instructor and mother of two (but not necessarily in that order). Reach her at pamjh8@gmail.com or pamjhecht.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Warm-weather parenting can be a hazardous sport
