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Mar 13, 2003 While your child plays nearby, you look away for a second and the next thing you know they are screaming and crying. You know that she just bumped her head, but it still hurts you just as bad, if not worse. You want to take the pain away. But how? The following are some ideas on how to help your child if they get a minor injury. They can be found in the Children's Handbook and the Assists with Illnesses and Injuries booklet which can be bought downtown on 2200 Guadalupe St. I have used these frequently with my toddler and other children. Usually, when a child falls, the parent will pick him up and console him, but this can actually remind him of his current pain as well as a series of previous similar incidents. He might continue to cry for several minutes. To say commands such as poor, poor baby could actually prolong the upset and injury. So if that doesn't work, then what now? The best way to assist a hurt infant is to use a locational assist. Say, We are going to do a locational assist. Point to a nearby object and identify it saying, look at that shoe, then acknowledge them by saying good or thanks. Continue until crying subsides. It will only take a few seconds. At the end of every assist, say end of assist. The idea is to cause them to forget about the pain in the past by understanding present surroundings. This assist has sobered a drunk and even aided a drug-addict with extreme withdrawal symptoms so I know it can work on a bump or bruise. Continue to repeat as needed. If your child complains of a consistant pain in one area, reestablish communication with a certain part of the body, by using a touch assist. Have the child sit or lay down and explain the procedure beforehand. Say, we are going to do a touch assist. Give them a command by saying feel my finger, and then touch the part of the body which is hurt. Tell the child to acknowledge your commands by saying okay, and then tell them good. In addition to the hurt area, touch all main areas of the body including hands, feet sides and the back. Touch both sides equally and be sure to give the command, feel my finger before placing only one finger on the area. It must be done this way to work correctly. At the end, say, end of assist. A contact assist is useful if it is possible to bring the child back to the original place where the injury occurred. Get into the same exact position where it happened, and if there was anything in his or her hands, be sure to include that. The idea is to replicate the incident as closely as possible without reinjury, of coarse. Go through the same actions several times, and the somatic will begin to hurt more at first. Continue to do the same actions over and over that caused the pain, and the pain will permanently subside. The person will have a cognition of how he hurt himself, and by reliving the scene, it will erase from the mind. In the event that a person or child is unconscious, give CPR or any other necessary medical treatment first. Call 911 and then, tell the person, I am going to assist you to recover. Give them the command to feel a certain object, then rub their hand on a surface. Do not wait for a response. He can hear you, but is not yet able to speak. Acknowledge them and continue until they are fully conscious, then say, end of assist. Do not speak any other words, and do not permit anyone around to speak as this can cause extreme psychosomatic damage to the mind. If a child has hurt himself, and it seems to have been traumatic, sit with the child and ask him to recall the incident. Ask for details about his surroundings and how he felt before and after. Once he has finished, ask him to recall it again and again. Go through this several times to reduce the amount of stress involved. Once he begins to sound cheerful instead of tearful about it, he has released his problem through communicating it. Believe it or not, hurts and falls can follow a child all the way into adulthood, causing him to avoid certain places and actions. It is not healthy to be fearful of everyday objects or situations. The trick is communicating it as soon as possible. Talk through it several times, confront it and the fear will disappear. About the author: Brooke Hadley currently writes freelance feature articles and has six years of professional writing experience. She has recently been published in Mystic, CT, Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX. She currently lives in Austin with her new hubby and their son, Skylar Austin. Email Brooke Hadley: PersistentGerl@hotmail.com. ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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