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Running through the season
Studies have shown that mothers can recognize their own child's cry among a group of other crying babies.
But what about a child's coughing or sniffling? This winter season, I've actually become quite adept at recognizing my children's sneezing, the sound of an arm swiping at a runny nose and the squeal of a sister whose brother is trying to wipe his nose on her.
More than snow on the ground or the chill in the air, a runny nose is the true sign of winter. In this era of bankrupt businesses and questionable accounting, in-vestment in a tissue company is probably a sound call.
Every trip to the store means another purchase of facial tissue. And in an attempt to avoid another stop at the store, there is the purchase of an extra box, only to be carefully put away at home and soon forgotten. This explains the seven full-sized boxes and 13 travel packs of tissues in my linen closet.
Of course, there is the alternative to the perpetual purchase of facial tissues ... the use of cloth handkerchiefs. As a person who grew up with the men around her at-the-ready with a handkerchief, I never got over the concept of essentially a reusable tissue: Here's a piece of cloth to blow your nose into. Oh, by the way, I've used it all day, as has everyone else who sneezed around me. Don't mind the wet spots.
Handkerchiefs can be washed, but there is always the lingering memory of it being used previously as a snot rag.
As a parent of four small children, I've learned to always have a tissue on my person. More importantly, I've learned not to leave the wiping of my children's noses to themselves.
There are thousands of books out on the market about the various stages of development in children. Parents can read about when their little Johnnie should be talking, when their little Susie should be walking, but other important skills, such as wiping your own nose, are never mentioned.
For example, when should a child be able to recognize that snot is running down their face and grab a tissue without prompting?
What about the ability to blow his or her own nose? How old should a child be before he blows his own nose, so that mom or dad does not have to return with a tissue 34 seconds later to wipe again. My sister-in-law advised me to have the child blow really hard out their mouth and then close it quickly, forcing the air out the nose. To-date, all this has achieved is turning my son into a very good whistler with a runny nose.
Runny noses and in connection, sneezing, are not just limited to small children. Babies, sadly, also are prone to the sniffles. The difference: Small children with runny noses can be plain gross. Babies with runny noses on the other hand are, again, sad. And when they sneeze, it may still be sad, but is actually kind of cute with the little wheeze and the whistle that accompanies the sneeze. That is until they sneeze and blow snot all over their face and your shirt. Time to go to the store again.