As I mentioned yesterday, our four year old is pretty sick. She’s contracted some super virus that’s causing a very high temperature and, according to her pediatrician, this virus is running rampant through the child population in our area.
We will ignore the fact that among my numerous friends with children between the ages of 2-8, my child is the only one that’s sick.
We will do this in favor of the idea that my co-pay is being well spent on a subject matter expert who relies on science and not being spent on the idea that there is perceived solace in numbers.
Anyway. This morning, I attended N.’s preschool orientation alone, and left her and baby brother at home with my husband. Because I don’t want to be known as the mom who doesn’t care about her kid’s orientation, nor do I want to be known as the mother of the child who got the entire class sick before school even started.
As an important side bar, I don’t know how it is in your home, but in my home, mommy is the food maker, nose/butt wiper, and bedtime monitor.
Daddy, on the other hand, is Mr. Funtime (!!).
Obviously, we cross over to the other side quite often, but for the most part that’s how it is.
Given how sick our daughter is, it’s been difficult for Tariq, i.e. Mr. Funtime (!!), to convey to N. that right now what she needs is rest. Playing will come after rest which she needs to to do in order to get well. It seems so simple. And, yet, up until today, this concept has been beyond even her well honed four year old analytical skills.
Today, however, when I came home from the orientation, as Tariq was frantically getting ready for work (it was 11 a.m.), I noticed N. was lying peacefully on the couch.
Resting.
Impressive, dear husband, impressive, I thought. But, how in the world did you finally get through to her?
I, then, casually glanced at the counter and found this:
Apparently, this was my husband’s response to my daughter when she begged him to play hide and seek with her.
Frustrated with trying to explain to her for the thousandth time to no measurable amount of success that her fever and illness required rest, he explained the best way he knew how. With a graph.
I’ve been staring at this graph for twenty minutes and am still trying to figure out what it means.
But it worked because, as I’ve mentioned, she was on the couch.
Resting.
This? Is why she’s probably a genius and he gets paid the big bucks, I assume.
But, in defense of all right brained folks like myself out there, is that, like, the WORST drawing of a heart and stars you’ve ever seen, or what??
(And if you’re reading through my Facebook feed and can’t see an image here, you really need to click through to the original post this time).
I don’t get that graph at all. And yes, sad display of hearts and stars! Hope N is feeling better soon!
Oh gosh this is PRICELESS! You’re in trouble, cookie.
Oh gosh this is PRICELESS! You’re in trouble, cookie.
I was seriously confused when I first looked at the graph because I thought “play” said “pray”.
Now I’m must moderately confused. Which is my normal state, so I’m just fine right now.
He’s suggesting that giving her medicine will make her more sick? This makes no sense to me at all. And I don’t even see rest represented on this graph.
I think you’re going to have to have him give us an explanation.
Oh wait – is that she gets more sick, has medicine, thinks she’s ok, then PLAYS!!!, and gets more sick again? And then the one time she does NOT play… she is healed!
Is he trying to teach her that playing makes her sick?
@Miss Britt, wow…good job Britt!
From my experience (in a multicultural home), daddy being mr.Funtime is going to change in her teen-age years… (but hopefully not!) Your roles just might get inverted. Hope she gets well soon (:
Hey! My Indian husband doesn’t draw fancy graphs. I want my money back.
I absolutely get the Mr Funtime reference. Sometimes, at my wit’s end, I will tell Manoj “Listen, I need a break, you are going to have do the dirty work tonight and make them behave.”
That is awesome. Yes, your child is a genius if through being sick a graph is so well understood. Hehe, we can start our own support group in 5-7 years.
@Hockeymandad, tought you might like it
I don’t get it either, but then I suck at math and I’m pretty sure there’s math involved there somewhere.
I don’t get it either, but then I suck at math and I’m pretty sure there’s math involved there somewhere.
That is amazing. LOVE it!
Notice that the medicine goes up along with the play? He’s double dosing her!
Seriously, I get it. Sometimes, kids just need something other than the usual answers to shut them up and get them to pay attention. Tariq just lucked into that graph. I love it! (But that heart is LAME.)
So, for all you ‘right brained’ people…here is what the graph means (Britt came very close):
- X axis is time passed
- Y axis is degree of sickness
- the dotted line represents normal body temperature (when she can start playing again)
- the curve/line means that as her temperature goes up, we give her medicine to stabilize but then she thinks that she is all better so she starts to play which then results in her temperature rise again. the cycle continues until she takes her medicine and rests until her fever starts to come down to intersect with the ‘normal’ dotted line.
With a little explanation, N. said, “oh ok…so all i have to do is rest long enough for the line to drop and touch the dotted line?” I told her to keep asking Mommy how far along she was on that sloping line and if it had touched the ‘normal’ line.
Hope this helps!
That totally works better than telling a child that her parents won’t come home unless she goes to bed. Next time, I’m trying a graph!
The graph made perfect sense to me. I have no idea what that says about me. I am left-handed so right-brained.
@Poppy, Same here. I’m not really sure what is hard to understand about the graph. Well done Tariq!
The scary thing is that I TOTALLY get that graph. As the quantity of medicine increases, and as time passes, the likelihood of the virus ending increases to maximum play as opposed to little playtimes after the medicine is administered.
Hey! Mr. Funtime (!!) Did I get it?
@Coal Miner’s Granddaughter, yes, that’s it! i’m glad we’re on the same page.
I came back to check comments on the “other” post, but I wanted to take a close look at this chart. The medicine makes her sicker?
Is there a Powerpoint presentation that goes with this?
Hilarious. Thank you for my morning smile!