Washington Babies

moms of preschoolers

For those of you with preschoolers - do they FLIP OUT with injuries?  Ben fell and scraped his hand and knee.  A tiny bit of blood.  You would think he had four broken arms.   Hyperventilating practically.  Won't let anyone touch them.  Finally got him patched up and for the next HOUR he periodically would start blubbering abuot it hurting again.  When I put him down for a nap - I don't know if I can sleep because it hurts so much.  And then he said after his nap he might just stay in bed all afternoon because of it.   SERIOUS overreaction.  Anyone have any good ideas on how to deal with this?  Or when it ends????

 

(I posted this on FB too so sorry if you've seen it twice) 

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Re: moms of preschoolers

  • Evie doesn't do that, but my niece does.  My sister gives her "medicine" (a vitamin C gummy) and it calms her down instantly.
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  • I give Jo a kitchen towel to apply pressure to wounded area. We only check for blood and then let her deal with it. Mostly she will sit for a few minutes, get bored and forget about it.

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  • fortunately he doesn't really re-act unless he's really in pain, but we talk to him about it and ask him to describe it.  "What color is it?  Are there polka dots or stripes?  What color are the stripes".  He gets distracted and forgets. 

    I like C's idea of the "medicine". 

    BIG Brother born 10/19/07 little Brother born 1/31/12
  • Lucky for us, K still thinks kisses heal almost everything. If her pride was damaged or the injury is particularly severe, then we have to call in an ice pack for reinforcement ;) That would not be fun to deal with. I'd probably try to wait it out myself. Is he doing it for attention?
  • Payton doesn't hyperventilate but she definitely plays it up.  I have a cookie monster ice pack that I bring out when she has an owie and I always offer a bandaid.  Usually one or both makes owies go away pretty quick.
  • I already let him do all of the first aid.  If I even attempt to help or touch anything it's crazy hysteria.   And I've told him that when you freak out, it makes stuff go through your body that makes things hurt more because of stress.  and that if you can calm yourself down you can make things feel better.  So I have him take deep breaths and say "I'm ok, I'm ok..." as he breathes out.  he just can't let it go.   I really don't think he's doing it for attention.  I think he really is upset and freaking out.  He'll be fine for a half an hour then suddenly "remember" and start crying about it again.  And he'll limp around or hop on one foot or hold the injured hand up in the air for a day sometimes.  I think he just goes through these super emotionally charged perdios in his life.  It's so annoying though.  Sometimes I've even yelled at him to snap out of it.  (Not my proud moments) But he will get so crazy hysterical he can't even talk.   I try to stay really calm and usually that helps... Steve has a harder time dealing with it.

     

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  • Blake is the exact same way, but only if he sees blood. He fell last week and scraped his hands and freaked out for like 35 minutes. He wouldn't use that hand for like 3 day. If there isn't any blood then he is usually just fine. Its out of control and I wish there was a way around it.  He has a serious fear of bleeding. I really don't think its attention for Blake either, my FIL thinks it is but he is truly freaked out when he bleeds. I am hoping he grows out of it soon. 
  • For the blood freak outs I recommend having a red washcloth to clean up with - it hides the blood.

    For the freakout in general, I would do some Doctor type role play when he isn't hurt. You are "hurt" and ask him what to do. Maybe the next time he gets hurt, he will feel more in control when he knows what the plan is to take care of it.

    Often with Luke, if he crashed (and was okay) I would make a big play about the crack or hole he "made" in the ground or whatever. Not that he ever did any damage, but it always got a smile and a story about it from him.

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  • If DS overracts about anything or persists on say "I'm sad" is big lately when he's trying to get attention I acknowledge it and respond appropriately once and then after that ignore. He'll just go on and on sometimes about stuff and I let him have the emotions but then it needs to be done. If he can't "put on a happy face" he needs to go somewhere else in the house until he finds it. Good luck - so frustrating.
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  • imagesunmountain:
    If DS overracts about anything or persists on say "I'm sad" is big lately when he's trying to get attention I acknowledge it and respond appropriately once and then after that ignore. He'll just go on and on sometimes about stuff and I let him have the emotions but then it needs to be done. If he can't "put on a happy face" he needs to go somewhere else in the house until he finds it. Good luck - so frustrating.
    I used to do this more but he started taking it like a time out or a punishment and he would do this weird thing where he'd make a fake happy face saying "I'm happy now mommy" and it was heartbreaking to see him feel like he had to pretend to be happy to stay with me. So I backed off on that tactic. I do make him go in another room if he's just whining or having more of a tantrum. But in this case he really is upset and freaked out. It's not like an attention play or a tantrum. I think he actually is scared.
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