A few weeks ago I was working downstairs and Isaak was playing ball in the hallways and living room. He was laughing and running around, and then he got quiet. I called for him to come to me in the kitchen, and he came, holding one hand on the back of his head. I asked him what he was doing, and he responded, "Ow." I asked him if he had bonked his head, and he nodded, then ran off to find his ball again. He played for a few more minutes, more quietly than before, then before it had even registered in my brain that it had gotten completely quiet again, he reappeared in the kitchen wearing a band-aid stuck to his forehead.
Me: Oh, Isaak, did that bonk on the head give you an owie?
Isaak: Yeah. (Accompanied with nodding)
I checked for blood underneath the band-aid. There was none.
Me: Did your sisters give you a band-aid?
Isaak: Huh-uh. (He still gets Huh-uh and Uh-Huh confused sometimes, but I was pretty sure this meant Yes.)
Hm. One of our household rules is that to get a band-aid, there has to be blood. No blood, no band-aid, and they're kept in my bathroom closet to help limit their availability. I shouted up the stairs to the girls and reminded them that they are not supposed to get band-aids without asking me first. "OK, Mom!", they shouted back, and went back to what they were doing.
I went back to work, thinking about how sweet that was. Isaak must have bonked his head, told his sisters about it, gotten sympathy from me, and then one of them must have given him a band-aid to make him feel better. Against the rules, yes, but SO sweet!
The band-aid wasn't on long before Isaak decided to throw it away, and the whole incident was forgotten until I went into my bathroom that night to get ready for bed. This is the sight that greeted me:
I was exasperated. How hard is it to put a band-aid wrapper in the trash without being reminded, and to put the unused ones back where they belong? If the kids make a mess, they are required to clean it up, so I left it where it was until morning. But I couldn't stop thinking about the whole chain of events, and I came up with a theory.
The next morning, my suspicions were confirmed when I questioned the girls.
Me: Isaak told me yesterday that one of you got him a band-aid. Who was it?
M: Not me!
A: Not me!
J: Not me!
Me: Do you think Isaak got it himself? Those two band-aids are all torn up along the sides like someone tried to open them and couldn't. Isaak, did one of your sisters give you a band-aid?
I: No. (Shaking his head.)
Me: Did you get it yourself?
I: Yes! (Nodding his head.)
Me: OOOOHHHHH! Isaak, band-aids are for when you get an owie with blood, not for when you bonk your head!
I: (scowling at me in protest and pointing to his forehead) OW!
Me: You bonked the back of your head. You didn't need a band-aid on your forehead.
I: (still scowling in protest) OWW!!!
Me: Isaak, did you have a headache?
I: (face lighting up) YES!!!
Later, Jaela told me, "We wondered why Mom was reminding us about band-aids when no one had gotten one!"
And since the now infamous band-aid episode, I've been working a little harder on helping Isaak use Yes and No instead of Uh-huh and Huh-uh.
