A day at the park
I know there is a fine balance between underprotection and overprotection but when you land on the wrong side of the equation it really guts you as a parent.
July 2011, my wife and I are eating at a restaurant with a little kids area where our daughter is playing with her nanny. I started getting a queasy feeling in my stomach and told my wife that we should go.
She agreed as soon as she finished eating we would split.
About two minutes later I hear my daughter shriek in pain. I run over and see her running towards me with blood pouring down her chin. I pick her up and hold her as we flag down a taxi and head to the hospital which fortunately is only a few blocks way.
Some idiot had left the cap off one of those big umbrella things that go over the tables and my daughter tripped and hit her chin right on the edge of it.
No stitches needed, but she’s got a decent cut on her chin which is going to be a scar for a bit to remind me of not being slack.
I feel terrible about it but what did I learn from this?
When leaving your child anywhere to play, first check everything for potential injuries and eliminate all those which could potentially REALLY hurt them. The little bumps and falls are inevitable, but the really bad ones are completely avoidable.
Two weeks later the cut has full healed but yes, she has a nice little scar on her chin. The doc says it is going to go away. But until then it will certainly serve as a reminder to me.
Until next time. Hope you have a great day.
Best,
Dare
aka
“The Clueless Father”
cluelessfather 