.jpg)
Less than an hour ago I witnessed a sight that would turn most parents' stomachs inside out. It did mine. I was with my daughter at a local park, on a playground we've been to dozens of times before.
Like many kids her age (3), she thinks it's more fun to crawl up the slide than to get to the top using the steps. But today, there was a boy who was pretty aggressive, trying to intimidate a few of the other kids, at the top of the slide. I called to her and urged her to turn around and slide down so he (and other kids) could use it. When she saw him, instead of turning, she got a little panicked and tried to scurry backward. Her foot slipped off the edge and I watched her sail to the ground and land flat on her back.
I raced to her and scooped her up as she wailed in horror and, I suspected, a good deal of pain as well. Looking back, it was stupid for me to have moved her, as she could have had a spinal injury that I might have aggravated severely. But the ground was that shredded tire soft rubber flooring that gives on impact. I'm sure that made a potential disaster what it ended up being - a frightening moment that was really a dodged bullet.
She clung to me like a vice grip as I held her while she sobbed. But she didn't seem to be in any pain as I gently put pressure with my palm up the length of her spine, neck and head. And when I inspected her skin for bruises and abrasions, there was nothing noticeable. She calmed down pretty quickly and moved her head continuously. She's even done a little hop on the carpet since then. She's now watching the Lion King 1&1/2, and seems to be just fine.
Kids are startlingly resilient, more so when they eat well and play actively on a regular basis. She does both. They also have a higher strength-to-body weight ratio than most adults, are naturally more flexible and their bones and joints are more pliable and resistant to injury that older folks.
Thank God.
I'm not sure I would have done as well if it had been me taking a fall from twice my height like that. How about you?
So how important is exercising as we get older? Forget lowering your risk of heart disease, stroke, many types of cancer and diabetes. Forget looking better and having more energy. How about dramatically lowering your risk of injury and when you do get injured, having the injury be much less severe, and recovering more rapidly and completely?
There's no better way to do that, than a healthful lifestyle that includes regular, challenging exercise.
Isn't that worth a few hours of your time each week and choosing food that nourishes first and provides pleasure as a bonus?
Like many kids her age (3), she thinks it's more fun to crawl up the slide than to get to the top using the steps. But today, there was a boy who was pretty aggressive, trying to intimidate a few of the other kids, at the top of the slide. I called to her and urged her to turn around and slide down so he (and other kids) could use it. When she saw him, instead of turning, she got a little panicked and tried to scurry backward. Her foot slipped off the edge and I watched her sail to the ground and land flat on her back.
I raced to her and scooped her up as she wailed in horror and, I suspected, a good deal of pain as well. Looking back, it was stupid for me to have moved her, as she could have had a spinal injury that I might have aggravated severely. But the ground was that shredded tire soft rubber flooring that gives on impact. I'm sure that made a potential disaster what it ended up being - a frightening moment that was really a dodged bullet.
She clung to me like a vice grip as I held her while she sobbed. But she didn't seem to be in any pain as I gently put pressure with my palm up the length of her spine, neck and head. And when I inspected her skin for bruises and abrasions, there was nothing noticeable. She calmed down pretty quickly and moved her head continuously. She's even done a little hop on the carpet since then. She's now watching the Lion King 1&1/2, and seems to be just fine.
Kids are startlingly resilient, more so when they eat well and play actively on a regular basis. She does both. They also have a higher strength-to-body weight ratio than most adults, are naturally more flexible and their bones and joints are more pliable and resistant to injury that older folks.
Thank God.
I'm not sure I would have done as well if it had been me taking a fall from twice my height like that. How about you?
So how important is exercising as we get older? Forget lowering your risk of heart disease, stroke, many types of cancer and diabetes. Forget looking better and having more energy. How about dramatically lowering your risk of injury and when you do get injured, having the injury be much less severe, and recovering more rapidly and completely?
There's no better way to do that, than a healthful lifestyle that includes regular, challenging exercise.
Isn't that worth a few hours of your time each week and choosing food that nourishes first and provides pleasure as a bonus?
No comments:
Post a Comment