It is my opinion that Band-Aids need to come with a warning label: "While these are often effective in calming an upset child with no other extrinsic benefit like bringing healing to a wound, they may cause exponentially more harm through tantrums."
There have been more fights in our household in the last 5 years over Band-Aids than any other household product--combined.
When Toby was an itty bitty baby I accidentally cut his finger with the nail clippers. The problem then was the unwieldy nature of Band-Aid packaging while trying to comfort a bleeding infant. The solution: lament that Band-Aids aren't dispensable like that hands-free tape packaging you see advertised at Christmas; nurse the baby to calm him down and get a clean cloth for the wound.
Just the other day Norah threw an all-out tantrum (picture kicking, screaming, crying crocodile tears, becoming a wet noodle so I couldn't pick her up) at CVS while I was getting a prescription. The cause? I told her I didn't want to buy the pack of Dora Band-Aids she had gone off and picked out. The solution: win the argument at all costs, somehow try to blame the tantrum on the delay at the pharmacy, and be secretly thankful that there are many old people around you who probably think Norah's screams are just laughter. (OK, that's a little harsh--I actually just told Norah "no," apologized profusely over her screams to everyone around me, got my prescription and got the heck out of there.)
Here's the problem with Band-Aids as I see it. People say that Band-Aids are cheap and they can be used to make kids feel better even though they don't do anything helpful for the wound--and they use them even if there isn't a wound. So parents buy all kids--we've had Star Wars, Spider Man, Superman, Princess, Dora, Army, and see-through Band-Aids at our house. But it's a huge scam, isn't it! I'd rather pay the same price for a book of stickers to give the kids whenever they get hurt for all the good the Band-Aid does.
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