I Need a Flower

When we have boo-boos in this house, kisses sometimes work. But more often, what is requested is a flower. Not just any flower, though.

Have you ever seen these?

Those little novelty "ice cubes" that you can find randomly here and there in stores, especially during the summertime. They're plastic and filled with who-knows-what. You pop them in the freezer and then use them in your drinks instead of ice. The draw is they don't melt or water down the drink. And they're cute and festive.

We don't use them for our drinks, though. Like I said, who knows what is in them. And they're made of plastic, so I'd rather them not be in what I'm drinking.

But they are *perfect* for little boo-boos!
Even when kids don't want to hold an ice pack on their owies, this tends to be satisfactory to them. It's the perfect size for little hands, they like the colors and shapes (we also have a few that are palm trees), and they don't melt and make a mess. We have a bag of them we keep in the freezer. Once one steps out to help with a boo-boo, we simply clean it off and put it back in the freezer with the rest.

One other aspect that I appreciate, aside from their small size and cute colors, is that there is a bit of a curve to the ones we have. Since they're flower-shaped, the inside has just a small curve to it. What's so great about that? They fit wonderfully over a boo-boo on a face or knee, etc.

Every now and then when Aiden gets hurt, he wants a kiss from mommy. Odds are, though, he'll be asking for a flower more than anything else. Sometimes I even offer a kiss, too, but the flower seems to be enough... (Sigh.)

The curved shape fits just right around little kiddo body parts, such as a big toe...

Of course, he also often sticks the flower in his pocket after his boo-boos feel better. He'll sometimes ask for more than one. And I'll find one here and there when picking up occasionally. I'm not complaining, though, because how often do you find a 3-yr-old who asks for ice for a boo-boo? In my experience, kids want nothing to do with ice packs after they get hurt. It's the first thing this guy asks for, even when he might not really need it, and I like knowing that he knows what will help his hurts feel better.  He'll even ask if we want a flower if someone else in the house gets hurt or doesn't feel well. To him, flowers just make everything better.

Is there something you have found that, like our "flowers," helps your kids deal with hurts and boo-boos?