Here Comes The Abusive Father…..
By
on
July 8th, 2008
Print This Post
Email This Post
I sometimes wonder what the staff at kindergarten think about me. I'm on the parent council and also an involved and dedicated father who spend an enormous time with my kids. But I also often show up with my daughter looking like I gave her a beating. This week she had a band aid besides her left eyebrow after a fall last week and two days ago she fell down and now has a huge black eye. Luckily(?) my Energizer Bunny daughter falls and gets injured at school as well so no one has called the police on me. Yet. Last week Annika fell out of her stroller. I came home one day and Foxy Wife almost fainted when she saw the large gash right next to the eye. She climbs like a monkey and it's impossible to always catch her. She's now 22 months old and a very solid climber. But she's also restless and doesn't like to sit still. Falls are inevitable. The staff at school is greet but accidents still happen. One day I came to pickup Annika and she had a large blood-filled scratch across her cheek. She had simply fallen down while running around, circumstances were not exactly clear. Another day a large bump on the head after falling from a slide. Child beatings in Sweden are not common, mainly because it's not the way we raise our kids but also because it's illegal. Child beatings are often done by foreigners used to different customs and traditions. NOT beating a child is unthinkable in many countries but I personally disagree with this approach and don't think it leads to anything good. I've yet to visit the hospital due to any falls etc. but I would feel a little uncomfortable showing up with my kids having blue marks on their body and a few Band-Aids. I know it's part of growing up, learning new things, and testing limits, and there is little I can do about it. But still…… Being asked uncomfortable questions by doctors and school staff is fine with me. I prefer them asking too often than not at all. It's bound to happen one of these times. Have you ever been asked these possibly insulting questions by doctors or school staff?
Can’t say that I have, but I heard a good story the other day from a mom who’d brought her child to the doctor and the doc commented on all the bruises and cuts on the child’s legs. She was ready to get defensive when he added, “I like that. Kids’ legs shouldn’t be smooth!”
Moe is like that - she’s always falling and bumping or scraping herself. We would always arrive at school (her sister’s, not here’s) with different band-aids and people would ask “wha tdid she do this time?”
I remember the first time we went to a well visit around 15 months and she was sporting bruises on her legs and a band-aid on her knees. The doctor looked at me and said “yup, you can tell she’s an active toddler now. I hope you keep stock in those” And that was it. At first I thought he was going to question it, but he’s got four boys, he understands.
I haven’t been asked that yet, but when growing up doctors would ask if I was abused. And then when I was preggo with my first baby, they asked if my BF was going to be okay with it.
At first, I was uncomftorable with this but then realized that it’s their job to make sure we’re safe. I would rather them ask and have the chance of someone telling them then not ask when someone would have told them.
Hope your feeling better these days
We never had this problem until Suzi started walking! The other day she fell down in the yard and kind of got a grass burn on her face. It was a little red for a few minutes and, wouldn’t ya know, that’s when the neighbors came out to say hi. They probably thought I smacked her but I would never do that!