Turn #TearsIntoSmiles with Elastoplast

The Doves love blowing away the cobwebs in the great outdoors. It’s one of the reasons we upped sticks from London to Surrey back in 2010. That and POD’s impending arrival on Christmas Day the same year. She might seem like she’s a ‘girly girl’ but don’t let that fool you. She’s been a climber since before she could walk and she’ll be the first to scale a tree. I love that POD enjoys being outside as much as we do and has the same adventurous spirit. She even climbed a mountain while we were in Cantabria last year, great going for a five year old especially in the Spanish heat.

Like all children her age, she’s had her fair share of bumps and scrapes. Suffice to say we’re always prepared with Elastoplast nearby. We have their plasters everywhere – bathroom cabinet, camera bag, various coats and handbags. Plus of course the first aid kit for road trips. It’s the worst feeling when your child injures themselves but being able to turn those #TearsIntoSmiles quickly makes such a difference. So what do we do to soothe POD when she hurts herself?

Provide comfort with cuddles. Certainly in the Dove household lots of cuddling goes a long way. It’s by far the most effective way to calm POD down if she’s upset. Hugging (and head stroking for that matter) is also a sneaky way to give her the once over without her realising. Instinctively I always go down to her level as it’s always good to have that direct eye contact.

Find out what hurts. If there’s a wound, it’s easy to identify where the pain is but sometimes it’s less obvious. When POD skidded round a corner on her scooter and fell recently, she was really upset. Remarkably she didn’t cut or graze herself. In fact, she was pretty unscathed aside from a little bruising. It was the speed at which she’d gone down that shocked her the most.

Give the magic kiss. The magic kiss is exactly that, a kiss where the pain is. Unless it’s bleeding in which case we do an air kiss. If we’re at home Mr Bump is on hand to help out. Mr Bump is a cold gel pack who lives in the fridge, coming out whenever he’s needed.

Listen to what happened. Getting POD to talk and offering reassurance that she’s going to be alright always calms the situation. Sometimes there’s a lesson to be learned too. Like scooting round a corner too fast, running on a slippery surface or launching herself off a tree/her playhouse without concentrating.

Remove any dirt. A bath is the best and most effective means of cleaning a wound. POD also has a ‘Poppy flannel’ from The Trolls which helps too. It kind of means Poppy can help fix her – with or without Branch.

Find a suitable plaster. This is very important. It’s not just finding an Elastoplast that looks right. One day it might be Olaf and another Elsa. The size and type is also taken very seriously.

Call on Bernard. Or Winston. On the odd occasion, we might call on Bernard. This is a Dove joke between the three of us and might be as simple as saying “what’s up Bernard?” to POD. The more out of context it is the better. While it might sound silly, it usually generates a raucous laugh. We don’t use it very often which is probably why it works so well. That and making up our own versions of “Winston Was Worried”. Like “Winston was worried because he had a sore bottom”. The alternative is armpit tickling which for some reason always makes POD giggle.

The #TearsIntoSmiles challenge from Elastoplast is such a lovely idea. We really like the film for the campaign which sees artist Lorraine Loots turn children’s actual tears into miniature works of art. She’s ridiculously talented and the pictures are beautiful so do take a look.

Elastoplast kindly sent us a garden ring toss set to play with which is such great fun. POD decided a party dress from last summer (teemed with an interesting legging choice) was the most suitable attire. We decided to play against each other. Of course POD cheated quite a lot initially although she ended up with a remarkable throw. I say that because she’s left handed and she threw from both hands – even adding a spin at times. There was a great deal of whooping along the way as well the obligatory lap of honour round the garden whenever we got a full house. Of course POD had to win, she’s not a very good loser, so I did a couple of rubbish throws to make sure she did.

It was a glorious day so once we’d finished, POD was back on her trampoline again. It was handed down from her auntie a few weeks ago and she’s absolutely loving it. Not just bouncing as high as she can but running round the edge and seeing how fast she can go. Typically she scraped herself slightly after larking around but it didn’t matter as Elsa was on hand to turn those #TearsIntoSmiles again. POD was back on the trampoline minutes later bouncing and running round again. POD was nicknamed “Danger Dove” when she was about two. She’s more careful these days and falling down is part of growing up but we’ll always be there to catch her.