A Pinch of Sugar

My 6-year-old nephew was enjoying himself with the spread of scrumptious food in front of him, when joy turned into a mini crisis. His sudden cries shook our table and all of us turned our heads to see him crumbling into a pool of tears, when one second before he was still happily tucking into his food.

He had accidentally bitten on the steel fork which poked into his gum. Incidentally, the tooth that was affected was already shaking and threatening to come out since that morning – double whammy!

Kicking his feet and flailing his arms, my nephew screamed with pain, and tears gushed out as he cried endlessly. My cousin, his mother, was doing her best to console him, but nothing seemed to work. My sister and I were shocked, and as much as our brains were reeling to find a solution, they seemed to have gone for a short vacation - nothing came out.

Then, his dad suggested ice therapy to ease the pain. Immediately, my nephew’s eldest brother went to get it. Apparently, the ice left him, rather than the pain, cold. My nephew continued to cry hysterically.

I got more flustered.

In the midst of consoling and trying ways and means to distract his attention, my godpa sauntered over from the next table and said: “Give him some sugar.”

Sugar! That keyword immediately rang many bells - in my cousin, my sister and my mum’s heads.

That’s right! Sugar! My sister instantly recalled how my grandmother had once applied sugar on her lips when she fell and was bleeding. Sugar not only can help to stop bleeding, the sweetness is also a natural painkiller. Most importantly, kids love sugar, don’t they?

Without a moment to lose, my cousin-in-law sprinted away to get some sugar from a waitress. Then, I witnessed a moment of transformation – the second a pinch of sugar was placed at the affected area, the screaming softened to a mere sob. Shortly, this kid in pain stopped crying.

The adults in distress were all relieved. This episode showed me one thing – an elder is like a treasure chest. You never know when you can find a prize.

Parenting in this modern era has taken many turns since our parents’ days. As young fathers and mothers read up more about parenting, the gap between them and their own parents slowly widened.

No doubt knowledge is power, yet at the same time, nothing beats experience.

If you are a first time parent, often, it pays to hear some age-old wise advice from your parents, or even grandparents! They have many tricks up their sleeves passed down to them from their parents. Though these methods may not be acknowledged by western medical practitioners, they have been time tested for as long as decades! 

Just like that pinch of sugar.