Daddy Do My Socks Match?

When a child gets a bump or a bruise, it is usually pretty obvious. If a child is bleeding, unless you're a fainter, most parents can quickly diagnose the cause and, in most cases, take the necessary action to correct the problem. Some things are a little harder to see, and, can easily be missed all together.

My youngest daughter likes to occasionally bring home a card from school. Her school has a neat program where they provide cards for the children to bring home and our youngest is especially thoughful in this area.

She is usually pretty happy and loves to make people laugh. She is quick with a joke and sometimes takes things a little to far, so you can't always tell when something is bothering her or when she's just being silly. I wish she had a sign that told me what was wrong when it isn't obvious.

One day she brought home a card and it just struck me as a little odd. I can't remember what it was about it, I just remember thinking, Huh! What's this all about? She didn't seem particullary bothered by anything and she said she had had a great day at school, still this card made me pause.

Here's the part that's difficult. My daughter is 7. She can be overly dramatic at times. She still has moments where she wants to be the baby. All of those factors could have convinced me to just ignore the feeling I had in my gut. Besides, she's so young, she probably didn't even realize what the card was saying. Still, that nagging feeling wouldn't go away.

I decided to talk to her about it and I'm glad I did. She told me about a situation at school that had bothered her a little more than she let on. I dug a little deeper and got to the root of the problem. We discussed it and came to what we both agreed to be the best solution. I gave her a big hug and that was it. We haven't had another occurance of tha problem.

I could have ignored the situation and just hoped it would take care of itself. Maybe the teachers at school could handle it. I have a problem with that line of thought. You see I'm my child's parent, not her teacher. I am responsible for her well-being. I don't believe teachers are paid enough to clean up the mess that parents all to often make of their children's lives. They have enough to deal with. My child is my job and I gladly accept it.

Sure, talking to your kids can be hard. There are just some things a cute little band-aid or a kiss to make it feel better can't fix. Sometimes, we have to go the extra mile and get beyond the normal exchanges of day-to-day life. It's worth the effort and your child will feel more loved in that moment than you can imagine.