Bandaids

I've realized that my girls have become addicted to bandaids. At first it just started out as a bandaid here and bandaid there when they really did have a cut or "owie" to cover up. Recently it has gotten more out of control. I think every time I turn around one of them is getting a bandaid to cover something up. At first I was excited that Makayla and Kelli would be brave enough to just take care of it themselves. I attributed the huge increase in bandaid usage to the fact that we kind of live outside now that the weather is nice. Then I started investigating their "owies" a little more. Yeah, they're OD'ing. If Makayla bumps into the couch (yes, that soft thing with lots of cushions) she thinks she's hurt and the only thing to stop it is a bandaid. You can't tell she has any kind of a mark anywhere, but the bandaid magically fixes it. Kelli on the other hand, doesn't notice when she gets hurt as much. She's always running everywhere and climbing in, on, and around everything so she's always getting battle wounds. However, she doesn't usually notice them until days later when the scratches are all scabbed over. She'll be sitting in her chair waiting for lunch and finally notice a scratch the size of a pin head that she's had for days and immediately needs a bandaid. Then there's Laney. Poor girl, can't help but fall into all the peer pressure. If she cries Makayla and Kelli assume she's hurt and needs a bandaid and are only too helpful to get one for her.

I've tried to be tolerant of it because, afterall, they are just bandaids. They'll eventually outgrow this stage, right? Jacob told them they only get bandaids now if they are bleeding now. I was thinking about my bandaid addicted girls earlier when what should happen but Makayla comes in to show me her new sore. Seriously, I couldn't see anything but she was so determined to prove she was bleeding. Finally I told her I just wouldn't support their addiction anymore so she needed to save the bandaids for a more serious injury so she needed to just deal with it. Five minutes later she came and showed me how she got her fix. She had taken a huge wad of toilet paper and nearly a half a role of scotch tape and made her own bandaid. It covered up not only her knee, but half her leg as well. Did I mention that the original sore she was pointing out was the size of a pin head? You know, I think real bandaids were a much cheaper (and nicer looking) cover than the improvised bandaid. I guess I will need to be more specific when I tell Makayla to just deal with something. In the meantime, I think I'll try to find a Bandaids Annonymous near us....