smallworld
Moderator
I don't know if I can keep calling her a easy child . . .
easy child has had pierced ears since last summer. Yesterday she kept talking about how she wanted a second hole in one ear. She even tried to push an earring through her ear and made it bleed. She said her cousin (age 15), whom we had all seen last weekend, had pierced her own ear recently and had suffered no ill effects. I told her that her dad and I needed to talk about whether we wanted her to have a second hole, and if we agreed to it, it would need to be done in a safe way (like at the pediatrician's office, where she got her ears pierced over the summer). I also spared no detail about how much an infected ear can hurt and how much it costs to visit the doctor if an infection occurs. I truly thought easy child understood my concerns and agreed to abide by the conditions I set forth.
This morning easy child was awake not more than 30 minutes when her sister came running to find me and tell me that easy child had pierced her own ear with an earring. She is 8 years old! I'm proud to say that I did not yell at her, but I did tell her that I was disappointed she had not followed the rules and that her dad and I would need to talk about an appropriate consequence. She said she felt guilty about doing it, but she couldn't help herself. She also said she really liked the way it looked and wanted to keep the earring in so the hole wouldn't close up.
Late this afternoon, we talked some more, and I suggested that she take the earring out because it was not something we had agreed upon. She reluctantly did, but then went into suicide talk: "You hate me. I hate my life. I want to kill myself." She even took out a scarf and wrapped it around her neck. I grabbed the scarf and hid it from her. She continued with the negative self-talk for about an hour until her evening dose of Zyprexa kicked in. After she fell asleep, I noticed that the earring was back in the hole she pierced this morning.
Needless to say, we are watching her closely and have placed a call to her psychiatrist. Does anyone have any idea what all this is about? Need for instant gratification? Depression? Prozac activation? In spite of all their own issues, my two GsGF never would have pulled anything like this. I'm not sure what to make of it at all.
easy child has had pierced ears since last summer. Yesterday she kept talking about how she wanted a second hole in one ear. She even tried to push an earring through her ear and made it bleed. She said her cousin (age 15), whom we had all seen last weekend, had pierced her own ear recently and had suffered no ill effects. I told her that her dad and I needed to talk about whether we wanted her to have a second hole, and if we agreed to it, it would need to be done in a safe way (like at the pediatrician's office, where she got her ears pierced over the summer). I also spared no detail about how much an infected ear can hurt and how much it costs to visit the doctor if an infection occurs. I truly thought easy child understood my concerns and agreed to abide by the conditions I set forth.
This morning easy child was awake not more than 30 minutes when her sister came running to find me and tell me that easy child had pierced her own ear with an earring. She is 8 years old! I'm proud to say that I did not yell at her, but I did tell her that I was disappointed she had not followed the rules and that her dad and I would need to talk about an appropriate consequence. She said she felt guilty about doing it, but she couldn't help herself. She also said she really liked the way it looked and wanted to keep the earring in so the hole wouldn't close up.
Late this afternoon, we talked some more, and I suggested that she take the earring out because it was not something we had agreed upon. She reluctantly did, but then went into suicide talk: "You hate me. I hate my life. I want to kill myself." She even took out a scarf and wrapped it around her neck. I grabbed the scarf and hid it from her. She continued with the negative self-talk for about an hour until her evening dose of Zyprexa kicked in. After she fell asleep, I noticed that the earring was back in the hole she pierced this morning.
Needless to say, we are watching her closely and have placed a call to her psychiatrist. Does anyone have any idea what all this is about? Need for instant gratification? Depression? Prozac activation? In spite of all their own issues, my two GsGF never would have pulled anything like this. I'm not sure what to make of it at all.