Or so I said to my 13 yr old daughter when she told me she hurt her foot jumping off the swingset into the snow.
Wed nite: She: I think it’s broken.
Me: Of course it’s not broken. Don’t get hysterical. She: Do you think we should tell mom (down the block at a neighbor’s)?
Me: Naw. No need to. Let’s put some ice on it and elevate it. (Hmm. Does appear to be some point tenderness right at the base of that toe.)
Thurs a.m.:
Me: How does it feel? She: Better.
Me: Fine. Find some way you can walk without it hurting too bad, take it easy, and have a good day at school.
Fri a.m.: Mom and daughter are heading to the orthopedist to see if casting and or pins are needed to repair what appears to be a pretty well shattered bone.
Damn, I feel like such a schmuck! I think Santa’s gonna be pretty damn good to that little lady this year. She really sucked it up like a trooper when daddy-asshole told her to. Damn, that had to hurt!
Young Miss Dinsdalette sounds like a sport. I hope she comes home from the orthopedist with good news. From reading your other posts on the SDMB, it seems she is already ahead of the game when it comes to having good parents, so don’t feel too rotten about this!
Hey Dinsdale same thing happened to me. My son, at the time aged 4, decided to ‘help’ by retrieving confiscated toys from my closet shelves. He fell on the trip down. I come in, hug, hug, hug, now, run along, he takes one step, hug, hug hug, run along, same thing. Pathetic how a 4 year old looks using crutches.
If it helps any, I did the same thing to myself when I was 9. Trying some Bruce Lee shit like a dumbass and I broke three toes in five places. Walked to school for two days before my mother thought “Hm, better take him to the doctor.”
When she saw the X-rays, she exclaimed “How have you been walking to school all this time?”
I replied " In pain, of course. I TOLD you it hurt!"
I got good Xmas presents that year, for some reason…
Landed wrong in PE class. Coach told me to “Walk it off.” Then I had to run the 50. Wasn’t too far off my normal slothlike time. Finally, after class, I was allowed to go to the nurse. Fifth metatarsal, broken clean through. Walking didn’t help. Coach never apologized or gave me presents.
But I can see why you would have reacted as you did. Kids these days are wusses.
[said in best way possible]
Ya big dope!!!
[/said in best way possible]
That little girl better find a PS2 under the tree on Xmas morning. You’ve got a lot of sucking up to do.
(Note to self: Let this be a lesson to you! Quit telling your kid to shake it off when she falls off her bike. You big meanie!!!)
I broke my right wrist in a poorly-executed slide into third base back in high school. I then scored, and lo and behold, I was soon on deck, holding my wrist and wondering how I could swing a bat. (FTR- not at all)
Me: Coach, I think I hurt my wrist, I can’t swing the bat. Coach: You’ve got the best on-base percentage of everyone we’ve got. I need you up there. Me: I can’t hit the damn ball. Coach: Shake it off, be a man. Me: I can’t hit the damn ball! Coach: Get on base somehow, figure out a way.
I gave it the ol’ college try (er, the ol’ high school try, I guess). First pitch, right down the middle, and I swung like a arthritic cow. The pitcher noticed. The coach shouted, “Shake it off!”
I stepped out of the batter’s box, tried to flex my right hand, stepped back up to the plate, and leaned into the next pitch.
Fittingly, I cracked a rib taking that pitch for the team.
You can also see why I gave up baseball when I went to college. Of course, it doesn’t stop me from shouting “Walk it off! Walk it off!” at NFL players as they’re carried off the field after an ACL tear.
Aw, c’mon, guys… you KNOW it depends on the kid. Any self-respecting parent will try to toughen up a young 'un. Especially if said young 'un has been prone to theatrics in the past… Anyway, it’s a perfect opportunity to bestow some wisdom: That which does not kill you makes you stronger.
Michelle
STILL waiting for that Mom-of-the-Year nomination…
I can remember when my parents told me to shake something off. I’ll elaborate for you. I was riding my bike one day down “death hill” and one of my friends thought it would be a good idea to throw a piece of metal into my spokes. Well about 25 feet later and a fully skinned forearm (only luckily) I was able to make it back home. My dad looked at my arm (mom was off at a charity banquet for the criminally insane) and said it was fine. I guess he didn’t look to hard because the piece of broken bone sticking out of my skin hurt like the dickens. After the hallucinations from the pain stopped I realized it was a badly shattered bone if it was able to stick through the skin. Since my dad wouldn’t do anything I had to ride my back 15 miles up hill through the snow to get to the hospital. They fixed it and said it was amazing that I was able to make it their. Oh wait I just remembered something that didn’t happen.
Anyways shake it off. No parents are perfect just learn from your mistakes. I’m sure your daughter loves you just as much now as she did before the incident.