The Responsive Classroom

The photo above was his “before pic”.

Here is his “immediately after” pic.

I lost sleep over it. I had anxiety over it. I had everyone praying for him. I’ve never even had a cavity that I can remember, so my concerns were coming from other peoples’ horror stories.

Clearly, from the picture at the top, he didn’t know what was coming. Therefore he didn’t lose any sleep or have any anxiety. He was pumped about an afternoon out of school and with mom.

So other than the 3 big shots he got in his mouth, he was relaxed and good. He had some soreness, but nothing a milkshake, a movie, and childrens’ Ibuprofen couldn’t handle. He was a champ.

Here is Tate this morning – good as new with a fixed tooth. 🙂

So here are my take aways from yesterday:

1. Kids are more resilient than grown-ups (we knew this, it was just another example).
2. We worry about things that haven’t happened.
3. We worry about things we know nothing about.
4. The thing we worry about always passes, and is usually not as bad as we thought we it was going to be.
5. And the one thing I did right yesterday – if adults stay calm and focus on the positivies (movie day out of school with mom!), kids will generally stay calm.

Here’s the other thing I thought about – I know that many of you feel like Tate did in that second picture. You’re worn out. You’re drained. You’re discouraged.

And maybe many of you feel like I did the night before. Losing sleep. Letting your mind spiral to all kinds of other random scenarios.

A root canal for a 10 year old is tough. The 2020 school year has been tougher. But it will pass. You will come out braver and stronger, with more tools to make the next 5 school years better and more effective.

Don’t worry about things that haven’t happened. Take care of one problem at a time. And remember, that the post-post picture is coming!

Follow us on social media (FB: @pressingonwardblog, twitter: @onwardpressing, LinkedIn: Jennifer Kleiber), and for more information, visit www.pressing-onward.org!