Does anyone else have traumatic memories of their parents forcing them to do something? Have you been in therapy because of it? When my 9 yr old daughter is scared of something, or afraid something will hurt…no amount of convincing, begging or sugar coating will convince her to try it. I’m afraid we may have pushed Lucy too hard the other night…she said she had a headache, and I told her that she needed to swallow a pill (back-story: she get’s leg pains and headaches quite a bit ((I think it’s hereditary, I used to get them at her age too))…and we give her children’s chewable Tylenol for the pain. For the past month, I have been telling her that when the stash runs out, she is going to be taking adult pills instead. The cost of those chewables in crazy expensive compared to the kind you swallow). Well, the time came during supper. After several complaints of a headache, I gave her one regular tylenol. She freaked. So I cut it in 1/2. She still freaked. She cried and cried at the supper table for h-o-u-r-s. Korey and I both thought this was ridiculous, and went back and forth between coaching, encouraging, and ridiculing.
Coversation at the dinner table:
Korey~ Lucy, I’ve swallowed boogers bigger than that pill.
Kelly~ Lucy, you’re NINE. The children’s tylenol is for toddlers, should I warm a bottle for you?
Riley~ Lucy, I’ll do it, you want me to show you how?
Brady~ Lucy’s a baby, Lucy’s a baby, Lucy’s a baby.
Korey~ Lucy, stop crying, I’m going to make you eat outside.
Kelly~ Lucy, if that pill was an M&M you would have swallowed in .04 seconds
Riley~ Mommy, can I eat Lucy’s dessert?
Brady~ Lucy’s a baby, Lucy’s a baby, Lucy’s a baby.
Kelly~ Lucy, just watch, you just set it on the back of your tongue (insert crazy woman screaming here), okay, I give up.
After 2 hours of crying and semi-hysterics (much to the annoyance of her parents and the amusement of her brothers), I ground up the 1/2 of a pill, stirred it in her milk, and forced her to drink it. Something tells me that she will be silently suffering through many headaches and leg aches in the future. I laid in bed that night wondering where a parent should draw the line; between sticking to their guns, or caving for the child’s sanity. I guess we’ll find out when she’s 26 yrs old and either A) lying on a therapist’s couch reliving every agonizing detail of her childhood, or B) Calling us up to say “thanks for helping me conquer my fears” (option B is unlikely, but let a mom have her dreams). Either way, I am confident she won’t be a pill-popper!
Oh my, this session was ages ago…look how bright and sunny it was that day! I got to see this handsome little boy for his newborn, 6 month and 1 yr sessions…it’s been awesome watching him grow!
He was not feeling the smiles this day~luckily, his serious looks are just as cute!
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by Kelly