Hurt Hand

One day a few weeks ago as we walked back home from a walk, my 1 year old son L fell down. It seemed like a normal fall and he got his hands down quickly enough to prevent his face from hitting concrete. What I didn’t expect was something being lodged in his hand.

L hurt his hand apparently with a very small splinter being stuck in his palm. When we got home, my wife knew to put this hand in some warm water and out popped the splinter. It did already have a red mark so he wanted lots of kisses on his owwwie. He kept looking at his hand all day and I figured by the next day, he would heal quickly (as little kids do!) and forget the whole ordeal.

It was quite the opposite, where L would keep looking at his hand and say owwwie. He would hold it up to me or my wife to kiss his hand. It seemed like he did this for 2 weeks straight, multiple times a day. Eventually the timing went down, but he would still periodically look down and say owwwie (and wanting a kiss on his hand, which was the cutest thing).

L’s hurt hand did show that he really remembers what happened weeks ago. It stuck with him and he knows that even though it doesn’t actually hurt (hopefully!), the small mark on his hand still serves as a reminder that something happened there. It’s these little things that happen, which can show people how a toddler brain is developing memory and speech quickly (and to seek more kisses for any owwwies).