Why I Laugh When My Kid Falls Down and Eats It

StayAtHomies May 6, 2018

Me and my kid are walking down the sidewalk headed towards the playground. The sun beaming down on my daughter’s hair as it blows effortlessly in the wind. I take a minute to think how great it must be to be a 3yo. No worries, no cares, just happy to be running free.

She turns around while running and looks at me. Those pretty blue eyes and cute smile. Just as I take that moment to connect with my little one, I see her face change.

Her eyebrows raise, eyes widen and mouth starts opening. Her hair that was once blowing behind her is now exploding in every direction. Then I see it. A razor scooter some little tool left in the playground area has now made my daughter go airborne.

The next part is priceless. My brain quickly evaluates the situation. She’s got her hands out to brace for the fall, she’s luckily falling into mulch and not on concrete, it’s winter, so she’s got extra clothes on. Jackpot. She’s pretty safe and I’m in for a great laugh.

As she’s horizontal and heading for the ground at a speed that could only be described as when the Apollo 13 shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, her hands finally make contact with the ground but give out. Her sweet little face is now heading for the mulch.

Her feet are now somehow flying up in the air and over her head. And just when I think she’s going to flip over herself, they whip back down to the ground sending pieces of mulch everywhere.

I quickly hit the brakes on the stroller I was pushing with my son and hand him my beer…i mean my water to hold. I run over to her to see if she’s okay. She’s starting to stand up, looking like a war torn soldier back from battle. As I approach, I see she has mulch in her hair, in her mouth and down the front of her jeans. I ask if she’s okay.

She starts laughing. She falls back to the ground and is rolling around cracking up. So of course, I join in… tears streaming down our faces from laughing so hard. And I realize she’s learned a pretty awesome lesson.

All the times she’s ever fallen, I’ve never made a big deal about it. I always asked if she was okay, and if she said yes, I’d end up laughing at her. She’d join in and we both would crack up together. Or if she was learning to ride her bike and fell off, I’d once again ask if she was okay, then I’d ask “What do we do when we fall down?” Her response…”We get back up.”

It’s a humbling experience to eat it in front of a bunch of people. But she realized she was okay and was able to get back up and laugh about it. If you teach kids that falling down is scary and run to them each time they do it, they’ll always cry when they fall or might be afraid to try something again. So feel justified in laughing at your kid when they wipe out. You’re teaching them a valuable lesson. And who doesn’t die laughing watching someone fall?

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