The other day I watched a little boy get knocked to the ground by an older kid who was running by. He burst into tears as his mother hurried over.
“Here’s a bandaid for ya,” I said, producing one from my vest pocket.
“Oh, he’s not bleeding, thank you though!”
I lowered my voice and leaned in. “Kids think bandaids are health magic,” I said. “Ask him where it hurts and exploit that placebo effect.”
She did just that, and instantly the kid stopped crying and thanked her. “I’ll have to remember that,” she said.
Children: #HACKED
Also if you have a crying kid give them a cup of water. You can’t cry and drink at the same time and it gives them a chance to calm down.
Tell them their going to run out of tears so they drink the water.
My mom does this at her preschool after awhile the other children start offering the crying child little cups of water.
Stuff like this is also a great test to see if the kid is actually seriously injured! Because with how much some kids cry over tiny bumps and scrapes, it can be hard to tell. But if you slap a Band-Aid on it or give them a cup of water or a piece of candy and they stop crying, they’re fine. If they keep crying despite whatever little placebo or distraction you’ve given them, you might wanna look a little closer at that injury or seek medical attention.
With my two’s class we ask them “more hurt or more scary?” It takes a bit of practice but after a few times they can answer without more prompting. More scary gets a hug and more hurt gets a look over.
That last one is so important because it validates the child’s feelings and tells them it’s okay to have these feelings and lets them learn how to deal with them, rather than just distracting them from them. I also helps teach the child to both communicate their feelings more readily and communicate when they’re hurt more clearly. All really important skills for a child to develop young.
