Ah, nature.
At school today we set up a low table on the concrete (A tabletop on some blocks) with some toys for the kids. While I was at the door waiting for a child to finish in the bathroom, Emma (a young four) was at the little table and started screaming bloody murder, and by the frozen way she was holding her arm, I thought, “NO! Her hand is pinned under the tabletop! Crushed bones! Crushed bones!”
I couldn’t leave the door and frantically shouted to other staff to please go help her. Donna did, and walked her over to me, saying something quietly that I completely missed in the panic. (I found out later.) Emma was still holding her arm stiffly and I said, “Where does it hurt?” She vaguely pointed, which I thought was weird, so I had her go and get a paper towel (the first step in preschool first aid). She returned holding the towel in her hand. I again inquired where it hurt and she replied in terror, “It’s still there.”
She pointed at the ladybug on her shoulder. (That’s what Donna had said. I missed it.)
Good grief. I thought she was dying.
I put the ladybug on her paper towel and told her, “There! Now you can take him outside and shake him onto a plant where he’ll be happy.” Instead she took him back over to the table where he watched her play.
Later in the day one of the aides was reading a story about animals and Emma piped up, “Ladybugs are very nice.”
What a one-eighty.
This is no laughing matter. Ladybugs can be dangerous:
http://fxh.worth1000.com/entries/311202/giant-ladybug
I think I’d be more concerned with what’s going on with the back of that kid’s hand. That looks nasty.
One of your nephew’s favorite books as of late is “The Grouchy Ladybug.” Some ladybugs are nice. Some are apparently very grouchy.