Keeping Your Chin Up
Thanks to everyone for remedy suggestions on P.Pie’s belly rash - oatmeal soap and spray on Benadryl are the order of the day.
It seems that PUPS (Papular Urticaria of Pregnancy Syndrome) is simply a rite of passage for pregnancy. That and stretch marks, swollen feet, and pelvic pain.
While pregnancy has its rites of passage, thankfully they only last for nine months. Childhood rites of passage, on the other hand, can last well into the 20s depending on your particular level of maturity.
Mine ended about 6 months ago, coincidentally about the same P.Pie got pregnant. Go figure.
Thanks to LA Daddy, I am reminded of a predominately male rite of passage – the chin scar.
Chances are, if you are male you have a scar on your chin. As a rule of thumb, the scar runs right to left and is on the underside of your chin.
The age range for getting this scar is 3-10, but that can skew older if your kids participate in full contact sports and/or X sports (BMX’ing, skateboarding, rollerblading, stair diving, etc.).
My theory is this: boys tend to play rougher and develop their sense of balance a little later than girls. So, rough play + poor balance = catching yourself on a hard surface with your chin.
My personal chin scar story pretty much follows that formula: I’m 4-ish and my mom is picking me up from daycare. We had just finished afternoon snacks (a cookie washed down with a tablespoon of sugar – hey, it was the early ‘70s) and I was full of energy.
Being a bit of a show off, I ran to the car. I decided that the car wasn’t far enough, so I was going to run the giant concrete drainage pipes that served as part of the play yard. Again, it was the EARLY ‘70s.
Long story short, I tripped and caught my chin on the (sharp) connector edge of the concrete pipe end. Split my chin wide open; I had to have stitches. To this day, I have a scar from an event that happened when I was 4.
On the plus side, bones heal and chicks dig scars.
You may doubt my ‘chin scar’ theory. Do a little research of your own. Ask ten people (preferably men) if they have a chin scar. I think you’ll find the percentage rather high.
Of course, now that you have this information you may be tempted wrap your rambunctious ones in pillows, or paint them with rubber so they bounce back up when they fall.
But don’t! Because you will be denying them a basic rite of childhood.
Plus when you walk down the street with your bruised and bandaged 4 year-old, don’t you want strangers to look at you like a child abuser?
That’s a rite of passage for parents.
It seems that PUPS (Papular Urticaria of Pregnancy Syndrome) is simply a rite of passage for pregnancy. That and stretch marks, swollen feet, and pelvic pain.
While pregnancy has its rites of passage, thankfully they only last for nine months. Childhood rites of passage, on the other hand, can last well into the 20s depending on your particular level of maturity.
Mine ended about 6 months ago, coincidentally about the same P.Pie got pregnant. Go figure.
Thanks to LA Daddy, I am reminded of a predominately male rite of passage – the chin scar.
Chances are, if you are male you have a scar on your chin. As a rule of thumb, the scar runs right to left and is on the underside of your chin.
The age range for getting this scar is 3-10, but that can skew older if your kids participate in full contact sports and/or X sports (BMX’ing, skateboarding, rollerblading, stair diving, etc.).
My theory is this: boys tend to play rougher and develop their sense of balance a little later than girls. So, rough play + poor balance = catching yourself on a hard surface with your chin.
My personal chin scar story pretty much follows that formula: I’m 4-ish and my mom is picking me up from daycare. We had just finished afternoon snacks (a cookie washed down with a tablespoon of sugar – hey, it was the early ‘70s) and I was full of energy.
Being a bit of a show off, I ran to the car. I decided that the car wasn’t far enough, so I was going to run the giant concrete drainage pipes that served as part of the play yard. Again, it was the EARLY ‘70s.
Long story short, I tripped and caught my chin on the (sharp) connector edge of the concrete pipe end. Split my chin wide open; I had to have stitches. To this day, I have a scar from an event that happened when I was 4.
On the plus side, bones heal and chicks dig scars.
You may doubt my ‘chin scar’ theory. Do a little research of your own. Ask ten people (preferably men) if they have a chin scar. I think you’ll find the percentage rather high.
Of course, now that you have this information you may be tempted wrap your rambunctious ones in pillows, or paint them with rubber so they bounce back up when they fall.
But don’t! Because you will be denying them a basic rite of childhood.
Plus when you walk down the street with your bruised and bandaged 4 year-old, don’t you want strangers to look at you like a child abuser?
That’s a rite of passage for parents.
posted by Rob Barron at 9:44 PM
3 comments
