Calm their fears.
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The first serious injury my oldest daughter received was when she was three years old. She had been playing on our kitchen table when she slipped and crashed. When I ran to her I thought she might have just had a bad bruise but when I held her I noticed a red smear on my shirt. It was blood and when I took a closer look at her face I realized she had opened up a sizable gash under her chin.
What complicated matters was that we were a few minutes away from having my student workers over for a dinner party. So my wife and I decided that I would stay back to settle them into the house before I’d drive up after them. After about thirty minutes of greetings and apologizes I hurried to the hospital.
When I entered the emergency room I could hear the screams of my daughter. She was being held down by several nurses who were trying to restrain her while they gave her stitches. After taking a look at the situation I knew what I had to do. I instinctually stepped into view of my daughter who automatically locked eyes with me. She whimpered as I held her hand and I told her that everything would be okay. I promised that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her and that she needed to calm down. It was like magic as her entire body relaxed and the nurses were able to fix her chin with little fuss.
I was amazed at the influence I had over my daughter. She was able to relax because she trusted me. She felt safe because I was there and so she was able to face something scary. If I were to take my life who would be there if life got scary. I need to live to be my children’s anchor and give them the courage to face their fears.
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Pic Credit: Joelle Birano
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