A few weeks ago we went to the zoo for the last time for this year. On our way out, through the gift shop, we purchased these “pop jumpers.” They’re these neat little toys that you “arm” by turning inside out and then set them on a surface. After several seconds, it returns to it’s original shape with gusto and jumps up off the surface- several feet in some cases. It’s basically half of a hollow rubber ball. Simple minds, simple pleasures.
I mention this by way of introduction because just prior to lunch the kids were playing with these jumpers while I was fixing them sandwiches. The next thing I knew, the lass was crying. I quickly surmised that the boy was not involved. She hadn’t fallen or run into anything either.
What had happened?
She had armed the jumper and then placed it over her eye; when it sprang back into shape it smacked her dead in the eyeball. Ahh, the brilliance of 3 year olds.
I dutifully made sure that nothing serious had happened to her eye. Her eye still smarting and tears still coming out of both of them, she grabbed her jumper toy and threw it in fury as she declared that “IT HURT ME!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her at that point. When I asked her what she had expected to happen, she got quiet. I then decided to test her and said, “Why don’t you try it on the other eye? Maybe it won’t hurt that one.” She replied “No” immediately and finished settling down. Then she went and picked up the toy and resumed playing with it.
A littler wiser, this time.
One reply on “I Could’ve Told Her That”
It could have been worse, I learned that lesson first with a stapler and my thumb; the second time I reinforced my original lesson with a pair of scissors and my hand.
Both items easily break the skin and hurt when used inappropriately, but I was much tougher after the fact, so in the end, I won out.