- When my child injured herself, she didn't want to wear a Band-Aid — but I convinced her.
- Soon, she was using them on stuffed animals or herself for fun, even when she wasn't hurt.
Band-Aids. Most households have them, especially if there are young children or accident-prone adults. Our household happens to have both. A couple of years ago, Target was having a sale where if you bought a certain number of a specific brand, you could pick out a first aid case for free. Since our house didn't have a basic first aid kit, I decided to take advantage of the promotion and put together a basic first aid kit for our house.
I purchased the basics: Band-Aids of various sizes (including some that featured characters on them), gauze rolls, medical tape, triple antibiotic ointment, and wound cleansing spray. I brought everything home, packed it away in the free case, and stashed it under our downstairs bathroom sink, content with the fact that we were now prepared for any small emergencies. A few months later, the kit would get its first use.
At first, my daughter didn't like using Band-Aids for cuts and scrapes
It was late summer and my husband, daughter, and I were out for an evening stroll. My daughter was running ahead of us on the sidewalk. She turned back to look at us and bam – down she went, having tripped over herself while looking back. She immediately began wailing and we ran to her side.
I bent down and lifted her off the ground to assess her injuries. She had a big bloody scrape on one knee, a minor cut on the other, and a few small scratches on the heels of her hands. I carried her back to the house, set her in a chair, and retrieved my supplies.
I pulled out the spray, ointment, and a large Band-Aid. She cried louder and insisted she didn't want me to clean her knee or put a Band-Aid on it because it would hurt more. I explained that we needed to clean her knee to make sure it didn't get infected and that the Band-Aid wouldn't hurt, but would help protect the injury.
After a quick lap around the house in an attempt to run away, my daughter finally agreed to let me clean and cover the wound. She then proceeded to walk hunched over slowly around the house as though the Band-Aid were inhibiting her movement. (It wasn't, dear reader; she was just having a dramatic moment.)
The following week, my daughter injured her hand, and out came the first aid kit. This time she got to pick from the character Band-Aids. Again, she was initially resistant, afraid that it was going to hurt more. But after reminding her that the last Band-Aid hadn't hurt, she agreed to let me dress her wound.
Soon, she wanted to wear them all the time, so I made her a kit of her own
The next time she needed a bandage, she got the first aid kit out for herself and brought it to me. Once, she fell and didn't even scrape herself, but she still asked for a Band-Aid. There was no telling her that she didn't need it, even though she wasn't bleeding. Quickly, the Band-Aids had gone from a source of anxiety to a comfort item anytime she bumped herself.
Soon enough, I had to hide the first aid kit when, almost on a daily basis, she began getting Band-Aids simply because she wanted to wear one. She also started putting bandages on her stuffed animals, pretending they were hurt. I explained to her that the first aid kit had been put away but if she truly needed a Band-Aid, then we would get it out.
For Christmas, I came up with a fun idea. I picked out a fun tin of adhesive bandages with unicorns on them and some more fun bandages from the dollar store to refill the tin with when she used up the ones it came with. The kit went in my daughter's stocking. When she opened it on Christmas morning, I explained that this was her own personal stash she could use whenever and for whatever she wanted. Her eyes lit up with excitement.
Several of her stuffed animals now sport multiple Band-Aids, and anytime my daughter needs a comfort Band-Aid, she grabs one from her own kit. Now, the family first aid kit is reserved for actual injuries. We've found a happy middle ground for the Band-Aid phase that many kids often go through.