How I turn tears into smiles with Elastoplast

Having two boys, one being very active, I've had to deal with many cuts and scrapes in the past. Bumps on knees, cuts on heads, over the past 12 years I've learned to deal with my boys' tears in many ways and it usually depends on how they've hurt themselves.

When BP was very young (about 2 years old) he loved to run around, he would run everywhere. He ran from one room to the other, he ran up and down the drive, he even ran into the kitchen at dinner time. This, of course, meant that he was going to get hurt at some point. Despite my reminding him not to run around all the time he continued and one day at home ran into the corner of the dining table with some force, cutting the side of his right eye. At the time the Hubby was at work so I went into Supermum mode. I picked BP up and hugged him while I walked into the kitchen to grab kitchen towel and ice. BP was a big fan of Bear in the Big Blue House and so I put that on the TV and luckily Lunar was singing her song (his all-time favourite song). While I encouraged him to sing along I checked out the cut at the side of his eye. It wasn't long before I was driving us both to the local hospital to get him checked out. 

BP was a clumsy child and I remember having many hospital trips with him after bumps to the head or cuts to the chin. We even visited a hospital in Orlando, Florida after an accident in a playground which ended with him cutting his chin (he still has a scar now). Bear and his Big Blue House was great for turning his #TearsIntoSmiles when he was very little, he would sing along with the songs and forget all about hurting himself. 





Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. 

Confucius 





As BP got older it became more difficult to console him with TV programmes and a special hug from mum or a tickle from dad always helped.

LP on the other hand hasn't had many accidents, but he is far more active. When he was younger he didn't really hurt himself, he managed to get around without bumping or scraping himself. However, as he started school and began attending football clubs and playing with friends he started to get hurt more often. I do remember one time, on the way to school, he walked into a bollard and gave himself a black eye. He was chatting to me while walking to school but wasn't looking where he was going, he turned around and walked straight into the concrete bollard. Lots of hugs and quiet time and he was smiling again.




Once or twice I've been called to school because he's been hurt playing football, and more often than not simply chatting to him about his day turns his #TearsIntoSmiles. He gets so enthusiastic about his favourite topics (maths and science) that it's easy to distract him. 

It wasn't too long ago though that we had a little trouble and not even talking about maths would console LP. He'd been running around the house and had managed to somehow run into a brick wall and scrape his hip. It looked very angry and sore and it took a while to calm him down. Luckily dad was on hand to give cuddles and tickles.




I know one thing that always made my boys smile was having cute or fun plasters and I love these plasters from Elastoplast...

Frozen and Star Wars plasters are great for making those scrapes disappear under an awesome picture and are certain to make your little ones smile.




Whenever I'm buying plasters I'll instantly grab Elastoplast, they are internationally renowned for their quality. I didn't know but Elastoplast has been sold in six countries across the world (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK) since 1924.




It's not all about the plasters though, more than 200 tried and tested products are sold in countries from Germany to Chile, the UK to Australia, under the brand names Hansaplast, Elastoplast and Curitas. The product range includes products that offer relief from foot problems, sport injuries, pains and strains. In fact I remember spraining my ankle a few years ago and having to wear an ankle support.

As the boys are older now they don't tend to cry when they hurt themselves unless it's serious. They both try to be 'brave' and sometimes don't even bother to tell me they've been hurt until I find a bruise and then they'll explain what happened. I guess that's a consequence of them being older and not wanting to show they're vulnerable. But no matter what, as their mum, I will always do my best to turn their tears into smiles, usually by tickling them.





Smile, it's free therapy. 

Douglas Horton





Despite my boys being older and trying to hide their injuries I will continue to buy Elastoplast plasters, just in case. Well, the awesome pictures make me smile too so maybe I'll use them myself!


This is an entry for the BritMums #TearsintoSmiles Challenge, sponsored by Elastoplast.