Like Father, Like Son

Hey everybody, it's Big Daddy again. I had the thrill of taking Max to the dentist this morning and had flashbacks to my own childhood. Let me explain:

When I was a little boy - not sure how old I was, but I must have been 5 or 6 - I was at the doctor's office and needed to get a shot. Now, most young children don't enjoy shots (Max actually laughs when he gets them), but I was the other extreme. As my older brother and sister sat quietly in the waiting room, it took all the available doctors and nurses in the office to hold me down in order to get this shot. My mother (a nurse herself) must have been less than happy with me, although I don't remember any negative fallout from my behavior. As I've gotten older, I've told this story proudly many times- "It took 5 or 6 adults to hold me down!" - but after today, I don't think I ever will again.

This was the first time I had ever taken Max to the dentist. Patti had gone with him every other time and, while he wasn't perfect, they were able to get done what they needed to. Today was a different story. When we got called back to the room, Max started out well behaved, but when it came time to get started with the cleaning it all went down hill. He buried his head in the chair and wouldn't let the dentist look in his mouth. I pleaded with him, bargained with him and even threatened him, but nothing worked. I then sat in the chair myself (a big step for me since I hate dentists just as much as Max, apparently) and put Max on my lap. He still wouldn't open his mouth for the dentist. Now, keep in mind that he wasn't getting a root canal or anything ... just a simple cleaning. He eventually opened his mouth long enough to let the dentist count his teeth and take a quick look at them, but then closed it again when we wanted to do more than just count teeth.

Needless to say, I was less than happy with Max as we left the office. In his defense, he had been diagnosed with a sinus infection the night before and had a rough morning, but his behavior was not acceptable and I told him this. Despite knowing how upset I was with him, he still asked if he could get a slushie from the WaWa across the street!

Max is normally a great patient (and God knows he's been in his share of doctor's offices in his short life) so maybe he was just having a bad day, but at some point my memory flashed to myself as a young boy and that one time I didn't want to get a shot and the commotion I caused. I scheduled another dentist appointment for Max next Tuesday for a cleaning, so we'll see if he redeems himself.

Below is a picture of Max dressed up as a doctor that is a few years old. He might have a future in medicine ... but I'd be very surprised if he ends up at dental school!