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Emergency Situations
A few weeks ago, we heard my youngest fall down at least one stair. We were not sure how many she fell down as the door to the staircase was closed and all we heard was a thump and a scream. My husband and I were both standing in the kitchen right next to the staircase as it happened.
Upon hearing the noise, all I could do was freeze. As in not move, not run for the staircase. It was my husband who ran to her, scooped her up, and then promptly yelled at me to check to see if there was any blood coming out of anywhere. Because I was still standing, frozen to my little spot in the kitchen.
I have no idea why I react like that. It’s like I want my husband to assess, and then get back to me whether or not I need to call 911 or just apply a Bandaid. And it’s not that I am afraid of blood. I’m not. I love all those crazy medical shows on the Discovery Health Channel. I can watch open heart surgery without even batting an eye.
Yet my kid falls down, and I become hopelessly useless. I will say this though. If my husband were not around, I would react differently. I would run up to her and be the one to scoop her up. So why do I react so differently when he is around? And what other Moms out there do the same?
Amy appears every Wednesday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Amy at A Family Story.
Amy Williamson
Amy is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Wednesday.
She lives in Holly Springs with her two daughters, a four-year old aspiring High School Musical character and a two-year old who believes every day should start at 5 a.m. Amy and her husband met while attending Virginia Tech and relocated here two years ago from Virginia to escape the traffic and intermittent snow. Amy works in finance and her husband is a real estate agent. Amy enjoys playing bassoon for the Holly Springs Community Band and can often be found in her garage practicing and scaring off the neighborhood cats.
Comments
I view my reaction as this.....my husband usually panics and overreacts to even the slightest of accidents. Myself on the other hand accesses the situation and reacts accordingly. If I thought my child had fallen down on unknown amount of stairs, then my husband and I would have raced to comfort and access injuries (and probably knocked each other over on the way!) I’m sorry but I can’t relate to your reaction.
Oh, I don't think your reaction is all that unusal. I tend to freeze up a little too when my husband's around for an incident, just because he's more knowledgeable about injuries than me, after playing sports for many years....but needless to say if he's not around I'm totally capable of handling things as I'm sure you are. I've also noticed it's easier to remain calm when it's someone else's kid. A good friend of mine is a nurse on a cardiac floor, and she says if someone crashes, she's cool as a cucumber and knows just what to do, but God forbid one of her kids gets a bloody nose, she panics and becomes useless.
I understand your reaction. I ran in to help my toddler after an incident a few months ago. I was the only adult home so did what I had to do, but I admit there was a slight hesitation, a sort of "Am I about to see something I'll wish I hadn't" moment. You say you're fine with medical things on TV, but like so many things in life, it's DIFFERENT when it's your own child.