Evolution of the Bandaid

Ah, the bandaid. It really does have many uses.

In our house it's considered a trophy piece.
If your sibling gets hurt and truly needs a bandaid...it becomes your single-minded goal for the next twenty minutes to peruse your own body finding that spot that does, in deed, require the use of one. Because...well, if SHE gets one, than I want one too. It's only fair.

And there are actually many, many, many kinds of kids' bandaids to choose from. Who knew this before becoming a parent?! Shelves of them. All sporting different cartoon characters or super heroes. Blue's Clue, Elmo, Batman, Spider Man, Bacon Strips! (can you even believe that one!?)... As a child, you beg for one. You admire it. You show it off. Because to wear a Dora bandaid is to OWN Preschool Cool.

In our house, the soft rule is...if it's bleeding, then you can use one. Thus, suddenly, I have a house of girls who want to bleed. So once blood is shed, providing proof of necessity, we move on to Bandaid Use #2.

The child has just taken a bad fall. Tears, sobs, and screams are reaching decibel levels where glass shatters on the spot. But then *insert melodramatic music*, you pull out the bandaid box. Ta-Da!! The sun breaks through the clouds. Cries turned to subdued sniffles. Unintelligible screams are replaced by a timid "Can I pick one?" The universe becomes, once more, aligned. Parent exhales a deep sigh of relief.

Thus, the bandaid becomes quite the diversion tactic. The fact that your right arm was just severed is no longer important. Because you have a DORA bandaid. Ya-hoo. Mom, can I go back out and show my friends?!

So as a child, you find yourself awaiting the opportune time for The Bandaid. Which, to review, is all about getting that perfected look. And to a preschooler, that look says, "I'm brave. I bleed. I like Dora the Explorer." I mean really, what more is there to say?

But oh! how things change with time! Because once you become a teenager, having a cartoon bandaid is shockingly not considered cool. In fact, using a bandaid, period, is not cool. It shows weakness. Completely not an acceptable thing to do. It proves that you are not invincible. Completely not an acceptable thing to be.

Thus the reason for see-through bandaid strips.

Well, at least for girls. You see, a teenage GIRL can get away with the see-through bandaid. Because she wants to make sure that the blood does not get her trendy outfit stained. Because the perfected look now has nothing to do with bandaids. The look she wants to pass off is the one that says, I have style. I have Designer Jeans. Not I have a Disney-designed injury-hiding accessory. Go figure.

Now for boys, it's a whole other story. In the twisted irony of growing up, it's now the wound that becomes the trophy piece and the diversion tactic. Instead of showing off the bandaid, you sit around for hours telling stories of how the flesh wound came to be. You take wagers over the size of the impending scar. You relive it. You relish in it. You WANT to get blood on your clothes. It completes your "look". You get many jealous pats on the back from peers.

And suddenly, in the blink of an injured eye...the once sacred bandaid becomes an unnecessary part of life. ...Huh. Who knew it would end this way?

Note to self: Have plenty of see-through bandaids on hand in 8 years. Start interceding now for the day I become a parent to "the teenage boy".