When Your Children Begin to Get Embarrassed About Their Eczema
They don't care if they're fat, skinny, short, tall, young, old, or anything else. They treat everyone exactly the same way. It's incredible.
They just have so much love. Making friends is the easiest thing in the world to them because everyone they meet is a friend.
Unfortunately, that childlike innocence doesn't last forever. Eventually, they grow up and things change.
It happens to the best of us: We start to notice differences, begin to compare, and let negative emotions like jealousy and insecurity into our lives.
And when you're dealing with skin imperfections like eczema, it can make everything harder.
Those insecurities multiply, and before you know it, that little girl who used to think warts and rashes were cool and would show them to everyone is now hiding her skin, afraid of being mocked for the patches of eczema that cover it.
So what do you say when this happens to your child? What do you say when they tell you they're being teased about their skin and it makes them want to cry and not let anyone see it?
There are many things you could say, but the majority of them are likely not helpful. They don't need to hear that the kids teasing them are insecure or jealous or just plain mean — none of these things diminish what they're feeling.
As much as I wish I could, I can't make other kids say kind things to my child. I can't prevent them from teasing her about her various patches of eczema, and I can't stop her from being singled out.
I can't shield her from the real world. No matter how much I'd like to, that won't help her in the slightest.
As time goes on and I've realized more that things like this are going to happen whether I'm OK with it or not, I've concluded that there's only one thing I can do: be there for her.
I can't stop the bullies. I can't make people accept my child exactly how she is, but I can make sure she knows that I do. That her eczema doesn't matter in the slightest to me because it's not who she is, it's just something she has to deal with.
In my eyes, it's no different than needing to wear glasses or taking shots of insulin for diabetes. My child is more than any condition she has, and if there's one person she needs to show her what complete acceptance and unconditional love look like, it's me.
That's the best thing I can do for her, and that's what will (hopefully) give her confidence in herself in the future. People need someone to believe in them and accept them, especially when they're having a hard time doing that themselves.
If she can't yet accept herself or her eczema, she can know I do. She can see that I'll listen and be there for her without judgment, and she'll know that she can always come to me when she's embarrassed, sad, or having a hard time.
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