The "Konk!" Theory

Last Christmas, CJ's favorite word was "hi."  Now it is a close race between "hi" and "konk!"  As many parents know, when your child first falls down you automatically gasp out of fear.  Then the child, seeing your reaction, starts to wail almost inconsolably.  So the next time they fall, you try to bite your lip instead of gasping.  Well, as it turns out, it's really hard not to gasp unless you have something better to say.

Tripping over the dog.  "Konk!"

I think it was towards the beginning of spring when we first started going outside this year when I invented, "Konk!"  CJ is about as clumsy as they come.  When we were at his two-year old doctor appointment, I had to seriously question what answer I should put for the question asking if your child can walk and run without falling down.  Our dog Lyna is tied to a cable when she is in our backyard because we don't have a real fence to keep her in, and this often is a source of tripping CJ.  He runs and trips over his shoes.  He bumps his head on tables.  He bumps his head on dirt.  What I'm trying to say is, the kid just isn't coordinated enough for the energy he contains.  So every time he fell, bumped his head, or scraped his finger, I would just say in a lighthearted tone, "Konk!"  He didn't cry, picked himself back up, had me wipe the dirt off, and went back to running.

Now, he says, "Konk," every time he barely bumps into something.  Only when it really hurts does he cry and need consoling, but through tear filled eyes he manages to get out a sad little, "Konk."  He also uses it when you bump something, bang something, or drop something.  I might say that my biggest piece of unwanted advice for a parent of a one to two year old would be to teach your kid, "Konk!"  It's saved us a lot of tears.  In fact, he'll often start laughing so hard he can barely get the word out when he falls down.  He's even learned to wipe the dirt off his own hands now.  So there it is--The "Konk!" Theory.