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Learning the hard way | Pad Patter 2.2.17

bellbird

bellbird

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I know a lot of you are in snow season but today DD (11y.o.) came home from her 1st highschool swimming carnival with sunburn that made both DH and I gasp and exclaim at, at the same time.
She has pretty much survived her life to this point without experiencing this kind of pain. I sun-creamed her arms, legs and neck while she was in t-shirt and shorts this morning and she had a rash vest in her bag but didnt change into that and now has painful racer back swimmer marks (if her sunburn was on the diagonal, she would look like a candy cane it's that obvious). We went thru all the "why didn't you'" questions etc and at some point DH said something like 'sometimes you have to learn the hard way'.

I don't know if that's always true but I guess I learnt about backing up photos the hard way & I have had major sunburn in my past so maybe it is true for certain things.
What do you think? Have you learnt anything the hard way?
(And Happy February everyone :) )
 
Ouch, I do take pride in keeping my children sunburn free for the first 18 years of their lives.
My oldest (23) seems to not even be learning the hard way - having gotten sunburnt (I gasped in shock) twice this summer.
 
Ouch! I've had a couple kids that have gotten burned really bad from the sun. Both times was time spend on a lake, one fishing the other on a sand bar where there is a yearly boating party that starts the summer off. They are both adults so I just shake me head as they know better and know what they should do to prevent it.

Hopefully she didn't get sun poisoning! I'm sure you know but make sure she drinks LOTs of water today!
 
As a child back in the 40's protection just wasn't thought of. I went through 2 or 3 serious sunburn (blisters and all) every summer. I mean, a kid is not going to stop playing in the sun. So now today I have to get a yearly skin check from the doctor and always have to report any suspicious spots. So far so good!!! As far as other lessons in life? Oh YEAH!! I have learned many things the hard way.
 
It seems like I have to learn all the important lessons the hard way sometimes. Lol!
Here's one that I learned the hard way in college:

Beer before liquor, never sicker
Liquor before beer, in the clear

sigh.
 
When I was about 16, I fell asleep on the beach. By the time I woke up, I had blisters on top of blisters on my back. I ended up spending the night in the hospital. What a lovely way to start our vacation. The rest of the trip I was covered from head to toe in my mother's beach coverup.

My husband grew up in Florida, before the days of sunscreen. I cannot tell you how many pre-cancerous and yes, cancerous moles he has had removed. Too many to count. Needleless to say, we are all very careful about using the best sunscreen and see the dermatologist once a year. (twice a year for hubby)
 
oh I am so sorry she ended up with Sunburn so bad.. I had the misfortune of having sun poisoning several times and even with sunscreen and covered up I can get sunburn through clothes, i am that susceptible... I ended up 11 years ago with Melanoma on an old mole too.. all the hype about tanning is not worth it. EVERYONE regardless of skin tone can end up with melanoma and sunburn. I hope your daughter feels better and that she never endures that again.. it is so painful... hugs to her.
 
I grew up in southern California in the 80's and have had several sunburns. The worst was the day we went to see one of those jet shows, where they fly around in formation and do loops and stuff. I wasn't that interested in it to begin with and then to come home with a miserable sunburn on my face from staring up at the sky for a couple of hours. I swore I'd never go to one of those shows ever again. And I haven't!

Yes, apparently I blamed the show, not my neglecting to wear sunscreen. :giggle

I have gotten a few more sunburns but none too bad. I've gotten good at avoiding the sun at its peak and learning just how long I can stay out in it.

As for "learning the hard way," I've used that phrase for my daughter a few times. I learned very early on, when she was a toddler, that she is a determined sort who needs to experience things for herself, not take someone else's word for it. For one very good example, when she was 7 years old (having always homeschooled) she asked (for about the third time) to try school. She even made the very good point that her dad and I know what school is like, but how would she know unless she tried it. So she did. She asked to come back home very soon and might have played a part in my other daughter's lack of desire to go.
 
My sons have both learned this lesson... the hard way. At school, at the end of the year, each grade goes to the town pool to hang out and have some fun with their classes and friends! They bring all they need, and they are responsible for putting on their own sunscreen. BOTH boys last year "forgot!" I even put it on before they left... and both got burned! For the rest of the summer, both boys stopped groaning when we went to the beach or anywhere about putting on sunblock.... and both boys ASK for sunscreen! This worked in my favor! :giggle

One of my kids also is stubborn and strong willed. He needs to learn by his own experiences, and sometimes that entails learning the hard way.
 
My daughter learns almost everything the hard way. She has a very hard time letting go of whatever opinion or perception she has of any given situation in order to allow room for someone else (me) with experience or wisdom to show her or tell her the best/easiest way to do it.

She has a tiny bedroom with hardly any toys in it (most are in the basement) but it takes her nearly an hour to clean it up on Saturdays because she takes so long to figure out how she's going to sort things, becomes distracted, then goes back to it and decides to sort another way, etc. Her art supplies are reorganized every week in a new configuration that makes sense to her at that time.

*shrug*

It's one of those things I've dropped the rope on since there are so many other things she has to do a certain way (homework, eating lunch & dinner, getting dressed for school) whether she wants to or not.
 
I'm a Florida girl and I'm pretty good at putting on the sunscreen...but one year I went to a friend's house and wore a bikini (I'd NEVER worn one in my life before - my parents wouldn't have approved - but since it was just her and I, I thought it would be okay). I didn't put a stitch on sunscreen on my stomach...and came home with blisters. Guess I learned my lesson. LOL! No more bikinis for me!
 
Karen said:
It seems like I have to learn all the important lessons the hard way sometimes. Lol!
Here's one that I learned the hard way in college:

Beer before liquor, never sicker
Liquor before beer, in the clear

sigh.
Click to expand...
That is just priceless! And so true :)
 
I try to remember sunscreen when out b/c I had a really bad burn in my teen years and it was awful. It took weeks to recover and I never want blisters like that again.
 
Karen said:
It seems like I have to learn all the important lessons the hard way sometimes. Lol!
Here's one that I learned the hard way in college:

Beer before liquor, never sicker
Liquor before beer, in the clear

sigh.
Click to expand...

#bestadviceever
 
Karen said:
Beer before liquor, never sicker
Liquor before beer, in the clear
Click to expand...

Yes. This! :wine And adding wine ANYWHERE in that equation is a bad idea! :no2

I have fair skin and grew up with my mom (who is 1/2 hispanic and therefore has NEVER had a burn or worn sunscreen!) so I had a few burns as a kid. I'm def better about applying it to my kiddos. My daughter is very head-strong & has been wanting to 'apply' herself. Last summer her back- where she couldn't reach & REFUSED to ask for help- got burned & boy- her tune has changed! ;)
 
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