Learning the hard way

First of all, I feel like I should apologize for the emotional vomit from the previous post. Though, just like when you throw up for real you usually feel better, I did feel better. Thank you so much for all of your encouraging comments. I have such a great family and friends!! Love to all.

Saturday morning, I fixed french toast for breakfast (with whole-grain bread and sugar-free syrup, of course). We all ate and enjoyed ourselves! Johnathan got down first, after saying thanks and "Mang-be-goosed?" which translated is, "May I be excused?" Hee hee. So, he got his little stool that he's been toting around the house with him for a few days now and put it over by the range/oven. He climbed up while I was saying not to touch ANYTHING up there b/c it might still be hot. He picked up the turner that was on the counter and began to pretend to fix breakfast. I said in a very firm voice, "Johnathan, please get down now. The range is hot and you could get burned." Now this is one of those times when I debate in my head the pros and cons of letting him learn the hard way. Obviously, I don't want him to do anything that will hurt badly, but sometimes I will let him fall a short distance or experience something a little painful if, after me telling him to stop the behavior, he doesn't stop. Again, I told him to get down. Again, no response. So, I could give him a time-out or a swat for disobeying, or he could get a little red mark from the mostly-cooled down burner if/when he touches it. Not touching the range/oven is not a new lesson for him. Every time I cook--nearly every day!--he wants to come too close, and I tell him to keep away, being more careful then not to let him touch it because it is VERY hot, obviously, when it's on.

So, he's still holding the turner and pretending to cook. Then he decides to get down. "Oh, good!" I thought. "He won't have to learn the hard way." As he is getting down, still holding the turner in his right hand, he grabbed the oven door handle with is left hand, then put the bottom part of the back of his thumb down right on the "mostly cooled" element. "Ah!" He screamed, and the turner went flying. My first response was a sense of sick satisfaction that he had learned his lesson. But that quickly turned to extreme guilt when I saw the blisters that were forming on his precious little hand!! We rushed to run the wound under cold water, then got some Neosporin on a Nemo Band-Aid and stuck it on. I felt so badly!

So, that was two days ago, and it is still hurting him pretty good. We continue to try to keep a bandage on it, but with it being his right hand and in such a tough spot to keep anything one it, it's been a challenge keeping it clean. Plus it hurts him so badly when we have to wash it off.

Here are a couple of pics from this morning of his bandaged wound:





Finally! I ended up having to post just one picture at a time to get it to work. Not sure why I couldn't do more than one at a time like I usually do. Oh well.

PS--Thanks, Elizabeth, for the nurse's advice on treating a burn!