Lesson learned?

[Wiped Out]

I think difficult child learned a tough lesson yesterday. He got mad at me for not being able to tie this really short piece of gimp (the plastic stuff they used to give us at camps when we were kids-you braid it into keychains, bracelets etc)

He was so made he wanted to call husband to ask him to come home and tie it. I said no (husband was out grocery shopping). difficult child then said he was going to run away. I said, "good-bye and be safe, I hope the mosquitoes don't get you."

He took off on his bike. I really wasn't too worried about him taking off anywhere too far (he really has nowhere to go and is scares too easily to go far). I was a bit concerned when after about 20 minutes he wasn't home.

Shortly thereafter, he walked in the house with a "Hi Mom", he was totally bitten up by mosquitoes. Poor guy, I felt sorry for him and had to stifle a laugh (cause I had warned him, mostly I felt bad for him) at the same time. He had at least 10 bites on his upper arm alone along with some on his head and neck. He also had taken off with-o shoes (which I didn't realize) he was bloody on his toes because he used them to help brake. Somehow he scraped his leg too.

Poor thing was itching all night long and again this morning. When he woke up he went straight to the bathroom to soak his arms and wash them with Dove. He made such a mess! He was practically soaked from head to toe.

I asked him last night if he learned anything. He said, "Yeah not to get run away when I get mad." He is going on and on about the mosquito bites today.

Hopefully he has learned a lesson and I'm also hoping the itching goes away soon, he really is suffering.

 

[timer lady]

Sharon ~ this is so reminiscent of wm's runaways. Sometimes I'd help pack his backpack & send him on his way with a tear in my eye. Other times I told him that he would go what he came with - nothing.

When he came back & if he was hurt I'd be very sympathetic. "wm, I'm so sorry you chose to run away & that you got hurt in the process." He'd get so tired of hearing my sympathy.

I hope difficult child truly learned his lesson. "I'm so sorry he chose to run away & now he's hurting. I hope his wounds don't get infected".

 

[therese005us]

Sharon, bathe the bites in vinegar it will help. Ignore the running away part now, unless you want to have just a little chat about consequences, and that running away when you have a problem or disagreement doesn't solve the problem - you still have to face it wherever you are or when you return. Perhaps you can say to him, 'well, running away didn't get the string tied, did it? so, shall we try and do that now?' or something like that.
I remember saying that once to my mum, i ran as far as the front fence and sat down... i didn't know where I was going! I felt silly!
Another treasured memory?

 

[susiestar]

I hope he learned his lesson. It sometimes takes really drastic stuff to get through to them, but it is not fun to know they are suffering so much.

In the drugstore area of most grocery stores and Walmarts they sell "Itch Stop" or "Bite Stop" pens. They are filled with liquid and have a top that comes off like a pen cap and has a little dauber top underneath.

These are filled with ammonia - same as you use for laundry and cleaning. I found out by smelling it and then reading the label. I now keep it handy in a small bottle in the bathroom. We use q tips or tissue paper to put a little on mosquito bites. It works almost instantly and can be reapplied when the itching starts back up.

I really hope he feels better MUCH sooner - this is no fun.

Also keep an eye on the size and shape of the bites. There are some times when the bites will be irregularly shaped and/or larger than usual. It can become very dangerous. It is not uncommon for people who are visiting or are new here to need the ER for epipen type medications after getting a lot of bites from skeeters. You may want to give him some benadryl to help keep this from happening and because it may help with the itching. I know it sounds strange because they are "just" skeeter bites. But it is very hard on you to have to deal with this.

I hope he feels better in a few days and that he has no allergic reaction to them.

 

[everywoman]

When I was really young, under 6, I remember getting mad at my grandmother and announcing that I was going to run away. Her response was, "Okay, but you can't leave the yard." I packed my little case with my favorite things and off I went. And I ran and ran and ran---around the perimeter of the yard. I think I finally went in when she whistled that supper was ready.

 

[graceupongrace]

Sometimes those hard lessons are the most valuable ones. Hope this one sticks with difficult child.

Meanwhile, Benadryl cream is great for mosquito bites. I always have a really bad reaction when I get bitten, and using the cream 3-4x/day does the trick.

Hugs to you both.

 

[Wiped Out]

Thank you everyone for all of the good ideas and runaway stories. I finally bought some Caladryl. I bought some Benadryl cream the first time but it said if he was on any other antihistamine that he couldn't use it. He takes Hydroxizine (spelling is wrong) to help with keeping him calmer but it actually is an antihistamine. I called the pharmacy and they said not to use it.

He is doing much better but was very itchy all day yesterday. He has always swollen
up more than most from mosquito bites. Used to be they would swell up to the size of a quarter, they still swell but not that much. Hopefully he has learned a lesson.

It's amazing with all he has been at camp this year he doesn't get bit there. He does have spray but he says there have been bats around to keep the mosquitoes away. At this point I'm not sure whether I'd pick the bats or the mosquitoes. They really are horrible right now by us. They are everywhere!

 

[klmno]

I loved it when difficult child hit the age where natural consequences became more apparent and occurred more often. It meant I could stop being the bad guy all the time and just sympathize with him. I'm sorry difficult child is miserable but I bet he did learn a lesson!