Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Parental Worries

I know there are other really important things that a parent needs to be worried about, such as:
Is he eating right?
Am I too lenient/strict?
Is he sick?
Is he happy?
Should he quit the pacifier cold turkey?

There are many, many others.

But one parental concern has been nagging me for a really long time. When I think about it, I get really anxious and uncomfortable.

When I put Max’s shoes on him I constantly thinking about the stitch in his socks.


Is the stitch to his sock bunched up under the fleshy part of his toes that he is constantly scrunching his toes inside his shoe to make the stitch recede into the space between his toes and the pad of his foot? Once it is there is the stitch too thick for the 3rd and 4th toe (Roast beef toe and the toe that had none)? Think about it, don't you hate when this happend to you?

Is the stitch going straight across the pad/ball of his foot? Is this causing him to walk on his toes?

Did the stitch rotate up on the knuckle of his little toe and causing him severe aggravation where he is “flicking” his little toe, non-stop, inside his sneaker? Will it cause a callous?

Is the sock not pulled on tightly enough, causing a bunch of fabric to be at the front of shoe?

Are the folds of his socks at his ankles causing too much irritation just below the inside anklebone, where the sneaker meets his foot?

Is the sock bunching up between his toes? Especially the big toe and the one next to it.

All of these bother the hell out of me, I am sure they bother Maxfield. But he is only 20 months old. He can’t fix the problem himself. He can’t tell me, or his mother that his socks are bothering him.

Will he remember that I did this to him?

25 comments:

Shelli said...

HOLY CRAP...your blog is hilarious!!!!!! I have a friend that has the same sense of humor as you over at:

www.thereignofellen.blogspot.com

I think you'd dig it.

Seriously...I'M STILL LAUGHING.

Random and Odd said...

I responded to your comment on my blog. OMG. OMG. OMG.

Kami said...

I know. They can't tell us that they are uncomfortable. I'm glad to see another great parent worried about such crazy things. No, he won't remember.

Cat said...

My daughter is super sensitive to the sock seam. I am pretty sure I did this to her, as I cannot FUNCTION if my own sock seam is even the TEENSIEST little bit out of line, so when she was little and would kick her little feet around, I was constantly moving her sock back into perfect sock seam compliance.

It's a sickness. Resist.

Unknown said...

Yes, he will remember, but don't worry, after years and years of therapy, he'll pull through just fine. ;)

when I was a kid, tags on clothing bothered me. not the ones from the department stores, the "how to care for" tags, and any other itchy part on the clothes.

Cheryl said...

That is so funny, because I thought I was the ONLY parent who worried about those things!!!

kimmyk said...

My son would not even put his shoe on until that lil red line went straight across his toes. He would kick his shoes off and scream a holy shit fit until it was perfect. I use to think I needed some Xanax or something just to get through the whole ordeal.

Then I watched his dad put his shoes on...he had shit fits too til the lil threads were aligned perfectly across his toes....it's a Y chromosone thing I think.
Now me? I could care less as long as they're on my feet. Same with my daughter.

G-Side Pride said...

i think there other worries u should have about him. like does he think his father is a dork for listening to bary Manilow and collecting comic books.

Mama Duck said...

Hmmmm, sounds like someone's OCD and there's just nothing wrong with that. Just ask me.

The Q said...

YES! He will remember it and it will affect him down the road. My Brother used to have HISSY fits about his socks when he could finally vocalize what the issue was. I know he must have suffered in silence for many months to have that much pent up anger about this socks....the "texture" as he called it and how they fit on his feet SEAM wise. You need to start counseling now, I'm thinking.

Ern said...

On my socks the seam is on TOP of the toes. So maybe he has a bigger problem. Maybe you are putting his whole sock on upside down! So that all the extra fabric that is supposed to go around his heel is bunched up under the tongue part of his shoe?

Alisa said...

They are called sock bumps. I had them as a child. They terrorized me and my mother. I was late for school many times on account of them. I feared for my own children well being one day, only to discover after marriage and our first child that he too suffered terribly from sock bumps as a child. This is no lie. Be persistent. Strive to eliminate them at ALL costs. Keep his poor, tender, sensitive feet as comfy as possible. OCD it is not. OCD is repeatedly checking on something that is no longer an issue and I assure you, those bumps ARE an issue. They are real and they must go. The parents who aren't concerned about sock bumps are probably the same parents that never cut those scratchy ass tags off the back of their little ones shirts and cause tag scratch syndrome. Sons a bitches! Persevere Bill. You're not alone.

Ken said...

I'm gonna go with the OCD theory. Do what we do. Just go without socks. His feet will stink, but you'll stop worrying. Plus, you live in Florida. I mean, who wears socks down there?

Kari said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kari said...

All this worry, and you still put those damn socks on when he's wearing sandals???!!

LOL. I used to think that kids didn't think about these things. I know that Scott could care less...stitch on the top...stitch on the bottom...inside out...right-side out...who cares. It drives me nuts!!! I even went as far as to buy him the socks that were all grey on the bottom and white on the top so that he knew which way they were supposed to go. But this kid just doesn't care!

"It feels fine! Leave my socks alone! Fine, I'll just take them off!"

That's what I get whenever I try to fix his socks! LOL.

Well, I said I used to think that all kids were like this. That was until my sister in law told me 2 weeks ago, how much a freak my nephew is about his socks. He's 4 and he litterally cannot function if his socks are on "wrong." Poor little guy! He will literally take them off and try again over and over until he gets it right. Usually with tears in his eyes because he is so frustrated that the stitch isn't just right.

I would suggest trying to get max to try and put his own socks on and see how fussy he is about it...does he seem to care?

I guess it all depends on one's socktitude! I personally am one who needs the stitch to be perfect!

Good luck!

Tammy said...

So funny. However, I am so glad to know that I'm not the only one who has these odd worries.

Effie said...

That's a very important thing to think about--especially if he doesn't want to wear his shoes--that could be why!

Anonymous said...

OMG. I thought I was the only one in the world that cared about this. I have always hated this for myself so naturally I make sure D has his socks on properly. Mom could care less and think I'm a freaking nut case. She might be right but damn my socks feel feel great.

AD

ieatcrayonz said...

Just don't drop him and you'll be fine.

Hmm, have to say I don't worry about this. Must be a girl sock thing. And I thought all you worried about was the stench coming from his shoes?

Nature Girl said...

I HATE when the stiches are off center. It drives me batty. I don't think my boys ever cared though. My youngest just flat out refused to wear socks for years..maybe it't because I always put them on him wrong. Sigh....Stacie

Anonymous said...

my daughter refers to the stitches as 'bumpilies' and is only just now starting to wear socks in 10 second intervals. I can see she'll be the only kid wearing flip flops in our family christmas portrait.
Grat blog by the way...

Jewl said...

OH
MY
GOD
And I thought that I was a freak! Glad to know that I am not the only one! LOL

I mean that is a good way, of course!

Jewl said...

Typo...
"I mean that IN a good way".... duh, stupid fingers!

c said...

In it's more virulent form, sock seam difficulty manifests as Sensory Integration Dysfunction, which my child has.

You can buy socks with seams on the outside. I found his at Target; I think Stride Rite has them, too.

Most shirts at Old Navy now are tagless; the information is screen-printed on the shirt.

(And certainly NOT to scare you--because in the long run, sensory issues are usually so minor--, but my son walks on his toes, too. It's very, very common in kids with sensory issue.)

Anonymous said...

get some seamless socks or toe socks.
I was a hyper-sensitive child and had to wear all my socks inside out so that rough seam wouldn't touch my feet. my life has been heaven since I discovered a higher grade of sock. look on the internet. there's no reason why kids have to suffer seams either.
hmmmmmmmmmm seamless socks...