The pains of being a parent

[Mr. Plow]

Last night, my middle son - 2 years old - was running around the house playing. Out of no where, he passes out and falls on the carpet. My wife picks him up and his body is limp. Just as quickly as he fell, he wakes back up and wants to start playing again. My wife takes his temp - 101.2. Nothing we haven't seen before, but she calls our doctor. He says that since he passed out, we had better take him to the ER.

As we go back, the doctor comes in and says he wants to run some tests. I think, "Ok, no big deal." They proceeded to draw blood from his arm - not the normal prick to the end of his finger - then they took him back for xrays, a cat scan, and ended the fun with a cath. He screamed through the whole ordeal.

I know it was all needed. But a freakin' cath on a 2 year old?!? We they didn't produce anything through the cath, they put a little bag over to catch the urine - which he refused to do.

Those of you with children understand seeing your child in pain and not being able to do anything about it. Or knowing that even though it hurts like nothing they have ever felt, it has to be done.

Thankfully, they decided that it was a seizure caused by a spike in his fever. But, seeing them give him a cath is a site I will never forget.

[ck_IN]

I don't have kids but putting a cath on a 2yr old seems WAY over the top. If they need a sample I'm sure they or you or your wife could have cajoled it out of him. I might try a different hospital next time if you have that option.

[morphius]

I have already had the joy of seeing both my children plugged into IV machines in hospitals. Just absolutely nothing more depressing and nothing makes you feel more helpless. I remember them drawing urine from my daughter when she was like 3 months old shoving the tubes inside her. Couldn't even watch.

[Lzen]

That sucks. I remember when my middle son was just a baby and he had to be hospitalized. That is the worst feeling as a parent. Hope everything is all well.

[Donger]

Ugh. I'm glad to hear the little guy is okay. Luckily my son has only ever been hooked up to an IV once. The f*cking "doctor" missed his vein twice before getting it in. I actually threatened to kill him if he missed again. They made me leave the room at that point.

Thankfully, my wife is much calmer in those situations.

[Redrum_69]

Was your doctors name Dr Sutcliff?

[Mr. Plow]

I have already had the joy of seeing both my children plugged into IV machines in hospitals. Just absolutely nothing more depressing and nothing makes you feel more helpless.

You don't know how little you are until you see your kids in a situation like that.

My youngest swallowed staples on Dec. 30th, 2006. They got lodged in his throat. Luckily no surgery was needed to get them out.

[kc rush]

My oldest had an MRI when he was 2 or 3. They had to knock him out and strap him down. That was miserable.

We also had a deal when he was between 1 and 2 where he was having trouble breathing so they had to run a tube down his throat to drain fluids. My wife couldn't handle it so she left while I had to hold him down.

I know people who have dealt with worse and it is a horrible feeling.

[morphius]

You don't know how little you are until you see your kids in a situation like that.

My youngest swallowed staples on Dec. 30th, 2006. They got lodged in his throat. Luckily no surgery was needed to get them out.
The first time my son jumped out of his crib I ran into the room and put him on his feet to make sure that his legs were okay, and he stood up fine. Then I asked him to raise his arms up, which we had him do all the time to change his shirt, and one of his arms didn't move at all. Tried a couple more times it didn't move at all. He ended up with a broken wrist, and his shoulder ended up being okay later in the day (something like a nursemaid shoulder or the like). Either way it scared the hell out of me.

[donkhater]

I have a special needs son. When he was 1 year old the doctors said that he was aspirating too much (he was) and that to fix it he needed to have a nissen (sp?) and G-tube inserted. Seeing him like that was awful. On the bright side, correcting his aspiration problem allowed him to eventually (after a few years of re-training him how to chew and eat) gain weight a lot better.

[JimNasium]

I feel your pain. Several years ago my then 5 year old daughter had to undergo a series of tests to ensure she did not have a glandular problem. She was and still is much taller than other kids her age. We took her to the hospital and had to have some xrays and urine testing done which was really no big deal. When they had to extract 5 vials of blood from her arm though things got touchy. I had to hold my screaming and terrified 5 year old while they missed veins and switched arms in the middle of the process. I still don't know which one of us hurt more during the process. BTW, a 5 year old who is the size of most 8 or 9 year olds can put up one hell of a fight.

I hope everything goes well and that this was just an isolated incident. Oh, and just to finish, after 2 separate series of tests and thousands of dollars we have determined that my daughter is going to be 6 feet tall as an adult.

[bogie]

Our child had a horrible bug that kept her puking for hours. The Dr recommended we take her to emergency for I.V. to prevent dehydration. Seeing her laying on the bed totally drained from so much puking and petrified, broke my heart. When we got her home she started puking all over again. However, we were able to give her a suppository which knocked her out. The next morning she was weak but fine. I have never felt so bad for another human as I feel for my child when she's in pain.

[Jenson71]

Most Depressing Thread of 2007.

[Smed1065]

You don't know how little you are until you see your kids in a situation like that.

My youngest swallowed staples on Dec. 30th, 2006. They got lodged in his throat. Luckily no surgery was needed to get them out.

I hope all works out fine, it must be rough. I had some instances when I was young and remember coming to and seeing my parents freaked out.

I thought I had did something wrong at that point but all tuned out fine.

[kepp]

Been there. About 1 1/2 years ago when my daughter was 2, she had to hospitalized with swelling and severe pain in her joints (they initially thought it was JRA - juvenile rhumatoid arthritis - but ruled it out). She had an IV in, which actually went fine. The nurse who put it in was REALLY good and found the vein quickly. However, they wouldn't give her any pain medication because they didn't want to mask the real problem by treating the symptoms. Now, I agree with that approach to a degree, but it was impossibly hard to sit next to her while she was crying and asking me to help her..."please help me, daddy!" Ugh...I demanded that they give her some good pain meds. She got some IV antibiotics and healed up nicely. Not something I want to go through again.

[bogie]

Most Depressing Thread of 2007.

Yep. Hopefully we have happy endings.

[big nasty kcnut]

I was operated on when i was 5 years old on my eyes to pull back the muscles in my eyes cause of lazy eye also got tubes in my ears when i was 8 i remember that cause it was dark and gloomy i could see the astrodome across the street from the hospital. so it is tough for a child to be in that state hopefully every one of your kids are ok and jim congrat on your daughter being 6 foot soon.

[CoMoChief]

I had some kidney problems when I was little. I had to go to Urologists and they stuck me with caths all the time. ****ing hurts like hell. I passed some kidney stones when I was younger too and that is some serious pain. Had an ultrasound break them but it still feels like your pissing razor blades out your dick.

[Taco John]

I feel for you. My 6 month old son is my life right now. Or as he would put it, "Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah!"

[ChiTown]

Kids.

I'm nothing without my kids. Seeing them in pain, or in those situations is gawdawful. I'm glad to hear your son is going to be ok.

[stumppy]

I feel for you. My 6 month old son is my life right now. Or as he would put it, "Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah!"


I see the little fella is already talking footbal. Just like his dad.

[HemiEd]

I feel for you. My 6 month old son is my life right now. Or as he would put it, "Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah!"

Yep and these are the good times. His problems only get bigger. :D

My daughters are 34 and 31 now, but I still have the memories.
Like the time my youngest found the hidden set of keys and ran the car into a tree.
Or the time she soaked jeans in bleach and put them on the ceiling fan to dry. Our living room furniture and carpet were covered in spots the next day. Enjoy!

[Groves]

Couldn't even watch.



This isn't to single out morphius because I'm sure we all can use encouragement. Might I suggest that we learn to deal with a little visual discomfort and be willing to *look* at your child while they're in pain?

I can't imagine it's any fun for the kids to be in so much pain and confusion, probably fear, and the parent that they so much rely on *looks away* or can't stand to view it. Sure it's hard. It's harder for them, I'm sure. Are we not men? Look at them, dang it. Look em in the eyes.

Again, I can use this advise as well. Let's remember who the kid is and who the parent is.

[CoMoChief]

I see the little fella is already talking footbal. Just like his dad.
ROFL

[KC Kings]

and jim congrat on your daughter being 6 foot soon.
Why does that constitute a congrats? Do you win an award if you make it over 6 foot?

This rant is directed at the comment, not at either of the particpants.

Maybe it is just me, but I get tired of hearing all of the parental comments about what percentile their kid is in, or how measuring their height at the age of 3 and figuring it up they should be so tall when they grow up. Big fricking deal. Is your kid so fricking worthless that the only thing that you have to be proud of is something they have no control over?

[Phobia]

Why does that constitute a congrats? Do you win an award if you make it over 6 foot?

This rant is directed at the comment, not at either of the particpants.

Maybe it is just me, but I get tired of hearing all of the parental comments about what percentile their kid is in, or how measuring their height at the age of 3 and figuring it up they should be so tall when they grow up. Big fricking deal. Is your kid so fricking worthless that the only thing that you have to be proud of is something they have no control over?

I can understand your sensitivity to the topic, with you being 8 feet tall but we all love you anyway. If you were here I'd even say this straight to your sternum.

[Phobia]

Plowboy, I hope your kid is alright. You may wish to get some bloodwork from the mailman just in case.

[JimNasium]

Why does that constitute a congrats? Do you win an award if you make it over 6 foot?

This rant is directed at the comment, not at either of the particpants.

Maybe it is just me, but I get tired of hearing all of the parental comments about what percentile their kid is in, or how measuring their height at the age of 3 and figuring it up they should be so tall when they grow up. Big fricking deal. Is your kid so fricking worthless that the only thing that you have to be proud of is something they have no control over?
This was the exact opposite situation. She was soooo far ahead of the norm that there was significant medical concern. I know waaaay more about her future height than I ever wanted to. I am happy though that she likes to play basketball. Maybe she can get college paid for.

[morphius]

This isn't to single out morphius because I'm sure we all can use encouragement. Might I suggest that we learn to deal with a little visual discomfort and be willing to *look* at your child while they're in pain?

I can't imagine it's any fun for the kids to be in so much pain and confusion, probably fear, and the parent that they so much rely on *looks away* or can't stand to view it. Sure it's hard. It's harder for them, I'm sure. Are we not men? Look at them, dang it. Look em in the eyes.

Again, I can use this advise as well. Let's remember who the kid is and who the parent is.
Well, I looked at her silly, I even held her hand. But I couldn't look at what the nurses were doing. Plus they were having a hard time because she was so young.

[KC Kings]

This was the exact opposite situation. She was soooo far ahead of the norm that there was significant medical concern. I know waaaay more about her future height than I ever wanted to. I am happy though that she likes to play basketball. Maybe she can get college paid for.
I know, thats I why I put the disclaimer in there. The reply said that he was glad there was nothing wrong with your daughter, and congrats on her being a six footer, which prompted my reply.

I just had this same discussion with my wife and one of her friends. She had two other moms at the house, and all of them have kids in advanced classes at school. Every kid in the school takes a test, and if you score high enough in certain areas on those test you take another test to make sure you didn't just get lucky. If you score high enough on the 2nd test they have proven that you are smart and they give you an IQ test to see if you are smart because of your effort or if you were just born with a higher IQ. Mom #1's daughter didn't score high enough on the IQ test so she was placed in Challenge, a program for over acheivers. As soon as she leaves the room my wife and the Mom #2 start talking about how glad they are that our kids made it into the gifted program, which I guess wouldn't be bad but they waited until the first mom left the room like her daughter was less of a kid. I started calling them out, because to me there is more to be proud of if your kid is smart because they try harder and you help them more, as opposed to a kid having a higher IQ simply because they were born with it. That lead into the heighth discussion because both moms said that they were "concerned" because our kids were the tallest kids on the basketball team last year, but this year they were almost the shortest. Nevermind that they are first graders and kids that age can grow 6 inches over night, and never mind that this was a 1st and 2nd grade league so they should be shorter than kids a year older than them, but what got me was that they were concerned like you win some sort of prize for being the tallest kid.

[JimNasium]

I know, thats I why I put the disclaimer in there. The reply said that he was glad there was nothing wrong with your daughter, and congrats on her being a six footer, which prompted my reply.

I just had this same discussion with my wife and one of her friends. She had two other moms at the house, and all of them have kids in advanced classes at school. Every kid in the school takes a test, and if you score high enough in certain areas on those test you take another test to make sure you didn't just get lucky. If you score high enough on the 2nd test they have proven that you are smart and they give you an IQ test to see if you are smart because of your effort or if you were just born with a higher IQ. Mom #1's daughter didn't score high enough on the IQ test so she was placed in Challenge, a program for over acheivers. As soon as she leaves the room my wife and the Mom #2 start talking about how glad they are that our kids made it into the gifted program, which I guess wouldn't be bad but they waited until the first mom left the room like her daughter was less of a kid. I started calling them out, because to me there is more to be proud of if your kid is smart because they try harder and you help them more, as opposed to a kid having a higher IQ simply because they were born with it. That lead into the heighth discussion because both moms said that they were "concerned" because our kids were the tallest kids on the basketball team last year, but this year they were almost the shortest. Nevermind that they are first graders and kids that age can grow 6 inches over night, and never mind that this was a 1st and 2nd grade league so they should be shorter than kids a year older than them, but what got me was that they were concerned like you win some sort of prize for being the tallest kid.
I'm tracking you. The funny thing is I have one kid that's a head taller than the others in her class and one who is one of the shortest in her class. I'm all in favor of just letting kids be kids. It's not a fuggin contest.

P.S. - I still hope my youngest ends up being a star bb center. :p

[The Red Sea]

I also hear your pain.

My 3 yr old son was doing what 3 yr old sons do best...jumping off the couch on to a big pillow.
We yell at him to not do this all the time.
So one night with company over we were all in the kitchen he set the pillow up in the middle of the TV room floor & jumped..this time he jumped a bit to far & tore his Eye LID on the corner of the coffee table.
Bled like a SOB too.
Oh yes I know big deal stitches weve all been thru that with our kids...However have you ever had to hold your 3 yr old son PERFECTLY still on the doctors table while he stitched his Eye LID???
All the while Screaming soooooo loud theres no doubt everyone in the emergecy room was wondering what the hell is going on in there.

They decided not to knock him out for it they didnt want to take a chance..this I understand but man it was the eye lid.
I was the one that had his head while my father & wife had his body.
The doctor just kept saying perfectly still..just give me 4 minutes..& BAMM he did do it in 4 minutes.

The doctor Rocked to be sure!!!

[KC Kings]

I'm tracking you. The funny thing is I have one kid that's a head taller than the others in her class and one who is one of the shortest in her class. I'm all in favor of just letting kids be kids. It's not a fuggin contest.

P.S. - I still hope my youngest ends up being a star bb center. :p

I do wonder about heighth in sports 10 years from now when my son is in high school. I graduated in 93, and the tallest basketball we had was 6'7", and he was by far the tallest guy on the team. We may have had a couple of guys 6'5" that played football, but the tallest starter we had was 6'3". I read in the paper now and there are mutple high schools with 6'7" and 6'8" starters playing football. One of my office mates has a son that is a junior at Raytown that is 6'7", and there are 2 kids on the team taller than him.

With animals, and humans with medical conditions that make them large, they have a lot of problems with knees, hip displacia, etc... I wonder if since our growth it normal our bodies will be conditioned to the extra size.

[NewChief]

Why does that constitute a congrats? Do you win an award if you make it over 6 foot?

This rant is directed at the comment, not at either of the particpants.

Maybe it is just me, but I get tired of hearing all of the parental comments about what percentile their kid is in, or how measuring their height at the age of 3 and figuring it up they should be so tall when they grow up. Big fricking deal. Is your kid so fricking worthless that the only thing that you have to be proud of is something they have no control over?

Whatever, Napoleon.
:p

[NewChief]

I do wonder about heighth in sports 10 years from now when my son is in high school. I graduated in 93, and the tallest basketball we had was 6'7", and he was by far the tallest guy on the team. We may have had a couple of guys 6'5" that played football, but the tallest starter we had was 6'3". I read in the paper now and there are mutple high schools with 6'7" and 6'8" starters playing football. One of my office mates has a son that is a junior at Raytown that is 6'7", and there are 2 kids on the team taller than him.

With animals, and humans with medical conditions that make them large, they have a lot of problems with knees, hip displacia, etc... I wonder if since our growth it normal our bodies will be conditioned to the extra size.

It's all the screwed up growth hormones in the meat. My nephew is a freaking giant, and I swear it's because the kid ate nothing but Tyson chicken fingers from ages 3-12 or so.

[KC Kings]

I also hear your pain.

My 3 yr old son was doing what 3 yr old sons do best...jumping off the couch on to a big pillow.
We yell at him to not do this all the time.
So one night with company over we were all in the kitchen he set the pillow up in the middle of the TV room floor & jumped..this time he jumped a bit to far & tore his Eye LID on the corner of the coffee table.
Bled like a SOB too.
Oh yes I know big deal stitches weve all been thru that with our kids...However have you ever had to hold your 3 yr old son PERFECTLY still on the doctors table while he stitched his Eye LID???
All the while Screaming soooooo loud theres no doubt everyone in the emergecy room was wondering what the hell is going on in there.

They decided not to knock him out for it they didnt want to take a chance..this I understand but man it was the eye lid.
I was the one that had his head while my father & wife had his body.
The doctor just kept saying perfectly still..just give me 4 minutes..& BAMM he did do it in 4 minutes.

The doctor Rocked to be sure!!!

At least you weren't involved. Everytime my kids have gotten hurt, I was involved in the activity. The worst was when I was giving the kids bull rides on the trampoline. I would buck them off and they would bounce around the place. My son is older so I buck him off as hard as I could, he did a complete 1 1/2 flip and landed upside down, directly on the top of his head. At first he couldn't move, then started screaming because it felt like his hands and feet were being shocked. He turned out being ok with just a stinger, but looking at him laying there seeing what I had done, I have never felt worse in my life.

[morphius]

I also hear your pain.

My 3 yr old son was doing what 3 yr old sons do best...jumping off the couch on to a big pillow.
We yell at him to not do this all the time.
So one night with company over we were all in the kitchen he set the pillow up in the middle of the TV room floor & jumped..this time he jumped a bit to far & tore his Eye LID on the corner of the coffee table.
Bled like a SOB too.
Oh yes I know big deal stitches weve all been thru that with our kids...However have you ever had to hold your 3 yr old son PERFECTLY still on the doctors table while he stitched his Eye LID???
All the while Screaming soooooo loud theres no doubt everyone in the emergecy room was wondering what the hell is going on in there.

They decided not to knock him out for it they didnt want to take a chance..this I understand but man it was the eye lid.
I was the one that had his head while my father & wife had his body.
The doctor just kept saying perfectly still..just give me 4 minutes..& BAMM he did do it in 4 minutes.

The doctor Rocked to be sure!!!
My son you would have had to knock out. It took two of us to even give the brat medicine, and then it was just luck, one time in the hospital it took 4 of us and a doctor.

Jim - I think the worst part about having a taller child is that other parents expect them to act their height. When my son was 3 he was taller then a lot of 5 year olds that we knew, and is still a head taller then a lot of kids his age.

[wutamess]

REPOST: http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=152950&highlight=seizure

Congrats it's just that... I went through the same exact thing (without the needels and tests) day before thanksgiving.

Scariest shit I've ever witnessed.

Glad the buger's ok though.

[Sydd]

My son had to have surgery at three months old. If that was not bad enough, we were told he was the only kid in the recovery room at the time. About five minutes later, they scream "CODE BLUE - FIRST FLOOR RECOVERY ROOM!!!" over the intercom, and everybody on the floor goes running in that direction. Luckily, a nurse who was in there came running out of the doors just before I ran in there and caught me, because I was not going to stop for some "hospital staff only" sign. They had brought someone in off the street, and since Children's Mercy South did not have emergency services, they had to take them to the closest place they could, the recovery room. All the grandparents were in the waiting room and the surgeon was nice enough to go running out there and tell them that it was not one of his patients.

[Groves]

Well, I looked at her silly, I even held her hand. But I couldn't look at what the nurses were doing. Plus they were having a hard time because she was so young.


I'm hardly the judge, but it sounds like you're a great parent. I bet she appreciated all you did.

[Phobia]

At least you weren't involved. Everytime my kids have gotten hurt, I was involved in the activity. The worst was when I was giving the kids bull rides on the trampoline. I would buck them off and they would bounce around the place. My son is older so I buck him off as hard as I could, he did a complete 1 1/2 flip and landed upside down, directly on the top of his head. At first he couldn't move, then started screaming because it felt like his hands and feet were being shocked. He turned out being ok with just a stinger, but looking at him laying there seeing what I had done, I have never felt worse in my life.
Once upon a time I was messing around with my middle daughter and she took off on a scooter she was riding. I stomped the brake on the back wheel and of course the scooter stopped. She didn't. The handlebars were adjusted for a bigger kid and caught her right in the mouth. Chipped her front tooth - adult tooth that had just come in. Now she has to have that bad boy recapped every 10-15 years for the remainder of her life. Great parent, huh?

[Mr. Plow]

Plowboy, I hope your kid is alright. You may wish to get some bloodwork from the mailman just in case.

I found it a little strange that both the wife & I are white and the kid is black. I thought is was some "secret" gene I had hidden somewhere.

[wutamess]

Once upon a time I was messing around with my middle daughter and she took off on a scooter she was riding. I stomped the brake on the back wheel and of course the scooter stopped. She didn't. The handlebars were adjusted for a bigger kid and caught her right in the mouth. Chipped her front tooth - adult tooth that had just come in. Now she has to have that bad boy recapped every 10-15 years for the remainder of her life. Great parent, huh?

You fuggin suck.

[Phobia]

I'm well aware of that.

[BucEyedPea]

Hospital took mine from me after C-section and wouldn't give her back due to wet lungs for a few days...and she was sprawled there on her tummy crying while I looked at her from outside through a glass window.

Once, I forget to lock the strap while walking mine in her stolle. One day she stood up so fast, I had no time to stop her, she fell head first on the concrete. Yeah! It's an aweful helpless feeling...and this was came with guilt. Good thing they're more rubbery at those ages. They can s/g like that more. She had a bruise and a bump.

FYI, Mr.Plow I used to pass out like that frequently as a kid while playing...woke up with the world spinning around me. No one noticed and I never said anything...just got up and played again. Thought it was normal. Said s/g as an adult to parents and they were shocked, including that I never said anything. Thought it was a mild seizure.

[BucEyedPea]

Here's a funny one:

My gf plopped down on a bed while folding laundry, and her new born was on the bed. The baby went flying up in an arc in the air and landed quite comfortably with a grin in the laundry basket.

[greg63]

Last night, my middle son - 2 years old - was running around the house playing. Out of no where, he passes out and falls on the carpet. My wife picks him up and his body is limp. Just as quickly as he fell, he wakes back up and wants to start playing again. My wife takes his temp - 101.2. Nothing we haven't seen before, but she calls our doctor. He says that since he passed out, we had better take him to the ER.

As we go back, the doctor comes in and says he wants to run some tests. I think, "Ok, no big deal." They proceeded to draw blood from his arm - not the normal prick to the end of his finger - then they took him back for xrays, a cat scan, and ended the fun with a cath. He screamed through the whole ordeal.

I know it was all needed. But a freakin' cath on a 2 year old?!? We they didn't produce anything through the cath, they put a little bag over to catch the urine - which he refused to do.

Those of you with children understand seeing your child in pain and not being able to do anything about it. Or knowing that even though it hurts like nothing they have ever felt, it has to be done.

Thankfully, they decided that it was a seizure caused by a spike in his fever. But, seeing them give him a cath is a site I will never forget.I feel for the little guy and can relate. My oldest, when he was three years old, underwent a spinal tap that was used in order to diagnose his epileptic disorder. I understand exactly what you're going through.

[Mr. Plow]

Hospital took mine from me after C-section and wouldn't give her back due to wet lungs for a few days...and she was sprawled there on her tummy crying while I looked at her from outside through a glass window.

Once, I forget to lock the strap while walking mine in her stolle. One day she stood up so fast, I had no time to stop her, she fell head first on the concrete. Yeah! It's an aweful helpless feeling...and this was came with guilt. Good thing they're more rubbery at those ages. They can s/g like that more. She had a bruise and a bump.

FYI, Mr.Plow I used to pass out like that frequently as a kid while playing...woke up with the world spinning around me. No one noticed and I never said anything...just got up and played again. Thought it was normal. Said s/g as an adult to parents and they were shocked, including that I never said anything. Thought it was a mild seizure.

I went through something similar as a child. My fever would spike so high that my parents would take me to the ER. Once or twice, it got so high the hospital had to pack me in ice.

[JimNasium]

Jim - I think the worst part about having a taller child is that other parents expect them to act their height. When my son was 3 he was taller then a lot of 5 year olds that we knew, and is still a head taller then a lot of kids his age.
Yep, I have to deal with that all of the time. Another thing I never anticipated was total strangers asking if my 10 year old likes her older sister or if they are twins. It really, really pisses my 10 year old off and then I have to deal with her. :banghead:

[kepp]

Yep, I have to deal with that all of the time. Another thing I never anticipated was total strangers asking if my 10 year old likes her older sister or if they are twins. It really, really pisses my 10 year old off and then I have to deal with her. :banghead:
In contrast, my daughter (3 1/2 years old) is small for her age...nothing to be alarmed about because her mom is short/small and I was really small as a child. I absolutely HATE it when people say stuff like, "Oh, she's so small" or, "She looks like a little doll". I was pretty sensitive to my height as a child and I don't want her having the same complex. People don't realize how dumb or damaging some of the things they say can be...especially to a child of that age, because they hear everything.