"Medicine is serious stuff. I never want to hear you call it that again."
"But Grandma..." our middle Grandlittle said, "I was..."
"Don't 'but Grandma' me on this. We do NOT call medicine HAPPY PILLS!"
"But Grandma..." she tried again, "It's just that..."
"Riley! Never again!" I said in my rarely used, super-stern Grandma voice.
This conversation occurred when Mr. Jenny and I were taking all three girls home from a soccer game. The oldest Grandlittle had complained that her arm was uncomfortable.
We had pulled the car over so I could try to get a pillow placed more comfortably under her sling.
During the process, Riley had suggested that I get her sisters 'Happy Pill' out of the trunk to make her feel better.
Happy Pill?
Wow.
I kinda/sorta freaked out.
I wondered where in the world she had heard the hard-hitting narcotics prescribed to her sister to manage the pain of her horribly broken arm described in that way.
Riley kept trying to interrupt my lecture on taking medications seriously.
Impatiently, she finally said, "Grandma! Just let me show you!"
She unfastened her seatbelt and Mr. Jenny popped the trunk open.
She rummaged around for a minute in a duffel bag and then victoriously held up this...
"Look!" she said triumphantly, "A happy pill. You press here and it laughs."
The giggles from the little stuffed toy filled the air.
"Oh. Ummm... Okay. I gotcha," I stuttered.
Riley got back into the car and handed her sister the stuffed toy.
I put my visor down and looked at her in the little mirror.
She rolled her eyes at me. "Grandma, you know that was weird, right?"
"It wasn't weird. You have to take medications seriously, right? I mean..."
Riley rolled her eyes again, "Yes, Grandma, I know. You already told me. A lot of times."
"Okay, then," I said sternly, "I never expect that to happen again...like if it's not about a stuffed toy...you know...if it's about real medication...you know...like..."
Mr. Jenny reached over and put his hand over mine. "Okay, Grandma. I think we all got the point."
Geez.
And if that wasn't bad enough, I had to listen to that ridiculous little "Happy Pill" laugh at me obnoxiously all the way home.
Geez.
Sigh...
Jenny, I daresay your little misstep with the "happy pill" toy probably reinforced the idea that medicine should be treated seriously more than anything you could have said because the kids now connect your words with a real-life incident. But...is that toy really called a "happy pill"? What kind of message does that convey? That one takes a pill to feel happy? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteIt's ok, Grandma. Maybe the laughter drove the point home and broke the tension of an uncertain moment. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an event! I have to say I find the happy pill stuffed toy kinda odd...a pill as a toy? I don't know, maybe to help kids get over the fear/anxiety of taking medicine I guess. But I'm with you,
ReplyDelete'happy pill' is just too much to hear coming from a childs innocent mouth:)
ha! I think they got it! sort of a funny story about a serious subject.I used to work for a drug and alcohol clinic with kids. and sometimes I would go into the schools to do programs about drugs and persription drugs, and things around the house that arent safe, etc. I think kids are never to young to understand where danger lurks!
ReplyDeletehave a great weekend grandma!
xoxo
I would have reacted EXACTLY the same way. EXACTLY.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad commentary on today's world, if you think about it.
haha! My son would have told me to take a "chill pill." We're just trying to be the best parents/grandparents we can be.
ReplyDeleteOh wonderful, I just love 'grandlittles' :o)
ReplyDeleteAt least you got your point across!
ReplyDeleteMy heart broke a little, Jenny.
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I get this and I'd have done the same thing.
This made my morning. Who would make a happy pill toy?
ReplyDeleteA Happy Pill ?
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought it was called a pain pill/meds to be used for real pain and discomfort. You did the right thing Jenny with this issue and as for that Happy pill toy...it would slip slide away at some point and not just for the annoying sounds it makes !!!
Heeehehehhe!!! This was great! "Ya know that was a little weird Grandma!!!" I'm rollin'!
ReplyDeleteDon't hate me but the grandkiddos and I call M&M's happy pills, and when dealin' with adults...their stress pills! :o)
God bless ya (shoot the electricity went out...I'm surprise I was able to pull this up again) and have a fantastic Friday sweetie!!! :o)
We both know how right you are about this....Keep shouting it out, loud and clear. And if there's a tag of sorts on the stupid happy pill, contact the idiot happy pill makers and tell them how unhappy you are! I'm surely NOT giggling....
ReplyDeleteOk, maybe it's just to make kids think it's fun to take their meds? If used responsibly it could have positive results, much like the real things themselves:-) Just sayin:-) I know pills can be bad so in that respect it's not a good thing but so many things can be made out to be bad now a days so it's all in how we approach them.
ReplyDeleteIt's ok, Jenny. At least you made it very clear to your grandlittles that abusing medication is a serious and very bad thing. You just didn't expect that they make stuff animals out of medication that's all. If you think about it, the people who made that toy are probably sending the wrong message that medication is cute and happy and nothing to be worried about. Ever think of that? Well, maybe I'm just over-reacting here but it could happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you 100% on this one, Jennie. You're a good grandma!!!
ReplyDeleteWho knew there was a 'happy pill' toy?? I would have done the same thing. I think they probably get it now! It is lots of work to be a GOOD Grandma!! hugs, Linda
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about it, Grandma - that little contretemps probably helped to reinforce everything you and their parents have taught them by word and example. It's all good!
ReplyDeleteAw, well, at least they weren't real "happy pills..."
ReplyDelete>.<
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. Not your story, by any means, but the whole idea of a happy pill toy. Unsure what message it sends? Did she get that at the hospital?
ReplyDeleteReally funny story, Jenny.
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, though, I totally understand where your reaction came from...And I'm not so sure I like a stuffed toy in the form of a "happy pill."
In fact, I don't like it at all.
=/
Just for fun, I Googled happy pill...can't believe there are candy stores named Happy Pills...the colorful candy is packed in little pill bottles.
ReplyDeleteI'm in your camp Jenny. We have to teach our kids that meds are serious stuff.
ReplyDeleteThat "Happy Pill" sounds about as annoying as that annoying Barney. Thank goodness my littlest grandlittle loves My Little Pony. Now that I can deal with.
Chin up granny and those youngins will always remember how serious you were about meds! ~Ames
What in the world? Is this what they're putting in Happy Meals now? Where does one get a stuffed, laughing, happy pill?
ReplyDeleteAnd sorry about the broken arm. No fun. Hope she heals up fast.
I still feel so sad about her arm. I don't even know if Mr Happy Pill would have made a difference with me. But yeah, I probably would have had a minor freak out too. It's ok grandma......
ReplyDeleteCan you hear me laughing at you here? I think they talk in code just to throw us off!
ReplyDeleteYou see, that's always the adults who have a bad phantasy, lol ! My friend had something similar with a condom her daughter had found and used as a baloon ! Poor girl couldn't understand why her mother was so upset !
ReplyDeleteI was relieved to read the end too! Funny how quickly adults forget that things look different to the little people. ;)
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping you made the point so clearly that they'll never, ever forget it, especially when they're teenagers, out with their mates and possibly being put under pressure by others. It's what we never want to think about for our Grandlittles so well done you for hammering the message home.
ReplyDeleteThat had me laughing out loud! I have had you on my mind lately, girl. Have you been doing OK? I just thought I would stop by and say that I love to read you in my reader and seem to never have a post written with the correct letter in it. My life is so busy that I am normally only writing one post a week but sometimes I slip another in when I can. I did pin you on Pinterest. Do you do pinterest? teehee....my new favorite "virtual" obsession.
ReplyDeleteoh Jenny, you can make me laugh out loud. It's always great when someone can make fun of themselves. You WERE teaching them a good lesson, but it kind of reminds me of when a child asks where did that baby come from, and gets a long, technical answer, and then says, I only wanted to know why the neighbor has a baby at their house. laurie
ReplyDeleteI'm playing catch up again. I'm sorry the grandlittle broke her arm. What a bummer.
ReplyDeleteI guess Grandma over reacted with the pill thing...huh? Your intentions were good.
Thank you for the fall card. You are amazing with your thoughtfulness. Of course, it's still kind of like summer here. How is it by you? Any cooler yet? We can pretend it's fall...right?
Sounds just like something I would do Jenny!! I've never heard of one of those "Happy pill" toys, that's pretty funny!! Hope she is feeling better!
ReplyDeleteI would have reacted the same way. I'm sure that the happy pills you had in mind, thought the same thing when they had the idea for the pillows. So, your response was still a good one for me...
ReplyDelete