First blood

We were probably supposed to have felt a gush of distress and cry out, "Oh no, you poor thing!" But our response was better captured by Pa's ejaculation: "Oh, you silly baby!"

Yep, Sonny has received his first injury - and it was self-inflicted. Left to his own devices for just a few seconds, he managed to swish his hand to his own face - and gouge a deep scratch just below his left eye. Mum, close at hand, heard a scraping sound, then Sonny's wail. The blood flowed freely, and we had to apply pressure to the wound using cotton balls.

It was not a week ago that we were blogging about Sonny's sharp fingernails. His mittens are therefore seldom left off, but he certainly took his chance when it came. Thanks to his strike, persistent redness and his continual worrying at the site with his hands, we took him to a doctor a few days later.

"It shouldn't leave a scar, but if it does, it's all right. He's a boy," the medico said unsympathetically, before prescribing an anti-infection cream. Cheers, doc!

Later, Pa wondered briefly whether his primary initial response - one of annoyance - made him a less than ideal parent. Where was his instinctive anguish, or any automatic rush to protect one's child? On nature programmes, we see hurt geese drawing off predators to save their little goslings. No stirrings of such heroism on our part.

Who's to say, however, how individuals will react when faced with genuine threats to their nearest and dearest? Folks who seem meek as mice become lions; blustery tough guys fail the test when it really counts. We see it every time unlikely heroes emerge out of some disaster - and, more quietly, in households around the world, when parents take on massive loads to provide for their offspring.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. But until that time of testing, second-guessing is pretty pointless. A nick that heals, or even a little scar, won't retard a child's progress in life.

Whether that child's a boy or a girl.