Boo Hoo Boy!

I fear my son is growing up to one wimpy boy! He seems to cry at the drop of a hat! If he falls, he cries; if I don’t play his favorite music on the car stereo, he cries; if a friend refuses to share a toy, he wails out loud; if a balloon bursts, he is seen bawling like a baby! At times he wakes up from his nap crying as if he were a new born. Sometimes, I feel he is regressing into his infancy with crying being the only mode of communication. Yesterday, in basketball class, the mini basket ball just fell on his feet and that too when he had his sports shoes on. But that was enough for my little cry baby to make a big deal out of his 'on-the-field injury'! The other day in school, he merely tripped and fell on the carpet, but vehemently insisted on a band-aid! Sometimes, I feel they love playing the victim card just to be pampered. Of course there is nothing wrong in wanting to be comforted but at the same time you wouldn’t want them to wallow in self pity.

So I found this book called “Boo Hoo Bird” by Jeremy Tankard which is a story of a bird who gets a bump on her head as a ball hits her while playing with her friend Raccoon. As the bump starts to hurt, the bird is inconsolable and does not seem to be not mollified by a kiss on her bump. Not knowing how to handle this further, the raccoon seeks the help of his friend the rabbit who gives her a hug to alleviate her distress. The rabbit then takes her to the Beaver who thinks a cookie can fix any injury. Not having an appetite for a cookie, the sheep tries to distract her with a game of hide and seek. The bird however is not amused and continues to reel under the “poor me” syndrome that all our kids seem to have. Nothing seems to pacify her, not even a bandage. Finally, all her friends cry boo-hoo as they give up trying to cheer up the bird. Seeing all her friends sobbing, the boo hoo bird decides to come out of her supposed agony over the bump that does not hurt anymore! If you have a boo-hoo baby too, this Boo-Hoo Bird is for you!:-)