“There’s no vacation from being a parent.”- Chevy Chase

Parenting is indeed hard work, and it is the most important and rewarding role in someone’s life. Yet, there is no shortcut to being a perfect parent, as we are imperfect in all other aspects of life.

Parenting is not easy mostly because of the fact that we cannot predict things, and especially when our children are small, we need to be fully dedicated and aware at all times.

The unique accident that happened to the couple Aaron and Emma Washington and their daughter is another example of this.

Namely, one day, they noticed a small pimple on the side of the face of their daughter, but soon decided it was nothing serious and ignored it. Yet, the pimple grew in size on a daily basis, and as soon as it got the size of a golf ball, they took their seven-month-old to the doctor.

The doctor initially diagnosed it as a simple infection, but soon afterward suspected that it was more serious than anyone imagined. He pinched the white object that poked out of the face of the baby, and started to pull, eventually ejecting a feather!

No one was sure how it ended up in the face of the girl, but they believe that she accidentally inhaled the feather when in bed or near a down comforter, and it pierced the inside of cheek once it was inside of her mouth, lodging into the flesh. The body of the small girl started to push the feather through the skin until it produced a pimple-like shape on the cheek.

Fortunately, the issue was solved soon, and the girl experienced no further complications.

Yet, even though this case was the first of the kind, there are numerous reports about babies ingesting small objects, stressing the importance of keeping such possible dangers put of the reach of children.

To ensure the safety of your child, you should clean up all small objects and out of the reach, as well as strings and cords. You should never let your child eat without your supervision, and make sure there are no small toys or fridge magnets near it. Additionally, experts warn that you should never tie a string or ribbon to a toy or the pacifier.

However, if any accident happens, seek medical help immediately, and remember not to blame yourself afterward. In the words of Bruno Bettelheim, in his book A Good Enough Parent:

“The erroneous modern conviction is that problems should not occur and that someone has to be at fault when they do; this causes untold misery within the family unit, aggravating the original difficulty and sometimes even putting the validity of marriage and family into question.  … An ancient Chinese proverb says that no family can hang out the sign ‘Nothing the matter here.’”

He continues:

“The child’s shaky security depends, as he well knows, not on his abilities to protect himself, but on the goodwill of others.  It is borrowed from the security of his parents. … Being a good enough parent hence requires that we ourselves be convinced that this is what we are.”