Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/docia-shares-a-story-recognizing-the-hurt/5012939/
Jeannie, running across the yard, tripped, fell, and skinned her knee. It started to bleed, and she started to cry. Her teacher came over to her and said, "That's what happens when you run too fast. You don't need to cry. It's only a small scrape, but we will have to go inside and clean it and put a bandage on it. Next time be more careful."I found myself wishing the teacher had said, "I'll bet that hurt. Let's see what we can do to make it feel better" before the "That's what happens when you run too fast . . . and you don't need to cry." Being one of those children who was always skinning knees and elbows - all my pictures bear witness to that being so - I always appreciated my mother saying some tender, loving words before telling me that if I were more careful and looked where I was going, the chance of my falling would probably be less.
It seems to me that young children run a lot, are naturally active, and occasionally fall down - usually by accident - and may feel the need to cry. Recognizing the hurt or "howie" (Jeannie's word) seems ...