THRIVING Melanin Family Magazine November 2018 | Page 16

Assertive Children
Why it's important to raise them...
Aja Moon
I don't think there is one child who has made it to 5
years old without some kind of unexplained bruise,
Listen, Linda. It happens.
cut or bump.  It's inevitable and laughable to think As parents, educators, camp counselors, tutors ALL
that we can have eyes on our children 24 hours a THAT, we literally cannot maintain positive eye
day, 7 days a week.  There are times where your contact with these kids every single second of
child can be up under your the majority of the day; every single minute.  Daniel and I had a similar
you go to pee and the next thing you know, there's experience at home recently.
blood and a toe on the floor.
Daniel was cleaning his room.  He was “merrily”
Ok, well, maybe not a toe, (super graphic) but you cleaning his room at that! Back and forth to the
get where I'm going.  I promise to be less dramatic, trash can and wherever else in between, but
in my own dramatic way. cleaning nonetheless.  At one point, he knocked his
head into the doorknob on his bedroom door.  Did
There was this one time that my son Daniel came
I see it? No.  Did he tell me what happened? Yes!
home with a knot on his head almost as large as
my palm and NO ONE at the school knew how it We doctored his little "Chocolate Chip" - that's
happened.  He didn't even know it was there and what we've been calling it because it left quite a
definitely couldn't tell me what happened to it.  He mark on his head - and we laid down for a bit.  I
had injured his little fingers and probably hit his gave him a little Tylenol for the pain and I let him
head at the same time, but was overcome with the rest (one hour following the incident-not sooner).
pain from his fingers that he forgot all about his
head.  I was MORTIFIED!! There were so many My point in all of this is: teach your children to talk
emotions running through my body at that through what they are going through.  This could
moment.  I was pissed, I was worried, I was angry, I have been a disaster.  He could clearly tell me what
was fearful.  I wanted to rip that entire school to happened to his head, therefore I knew the
shreds.  When they finally got a hold of the mechanism of injury and how to quickly treat it.
teacher, she was shocked and hurt to hear that  Moreover, he would in turn be able to clearly
Daniel has suffered a head injury and regrettably explain what happened to any and everyone who
admitted she was unaware. asked him.  Therefore, if was being abused at
home, there would be no question.
Since the mechanism of injury was unknown, we
got it checked out at the ER.  No concussion, all is Being assertive is the opposite of "seen and not
well. heard".  Being assertive, I think, can keep CPS (or 
NOVEMBER
2018 • THRIVE |
14