Feeling Guilty Jff What Injuries Has Your Child Had

Aww, don't feel bad :) I don't even know where to begin with my kiddos!

Took a nice sized chunk off the tip of one of my daughters noses with my finger nail once, totally accidently.

Elbowed my 7 year old and knocked a loose tooth out. She was like 'mom! you knocked out my TOOTH'... then I prayed she wouldn't tell her teachers... how bad would THAT sound?!

How many times have I called poison control? Enough times to have poison control stickers for friends and family. Eldest daughter once ate attic insulation RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME before I could stop her. Middle daughter once ate excedrine migraine because I had a migraine, took some, and dozed off on the couch. I can't even describe how scared I was at that one!!

My son 'ate' a fish hook... didn't swallow it, but it went into the top of his pallet and out through his gum when he was 9 months old. Felt like the damn fishing poles shouldn't have even been in the car, even though they HAD been secured.

To top off all these ER visits (plus the one's I didn't mention), my nervous habit is laughing. Imagine how distraute I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACTING, and laughing like a maniac instead?! Mortifying. I can't help it.

Thinking back on all this, I almost wish I could wrap them in bubble wrap, slap some helmets on their heads, and tether them to something to stay out of trouble!!

I feel like I have to add, I am NOT a bad parent. In fact, my friends think I'm a little too overprotective sometimes... just goes to prove that they're called ACCIDENTS for a reason ;) You'll laugh about this later, if you even remember it at all!

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If this doesn't make you feel better I don't know what will
My middle son started walking when he was 10 months old so when we went outside to play at the playground I put shoes on him. I decided to take him down one of the metal slides. He was sitting on my lap with his feet between my legs. One of his shoes stuck to the slide and his leg snapped under me. We get off the slide and he is crying of course so I took his shoe off and it looked a little red but that was about it. It was close to his bed time so I didn't think anything of the extra fussiness and we went home and I got him ready for bed and put him to sleep. The next day he wasn't getting around like normal so I took him to the ER and it turns out his leg was broken. Then as we are in the hospital room waiting for the doctor to come in and bandage my kid up my oldest was behind the stroller so I was holding his hand for him to come out front. He tripped over the stroller and landed his forehead right in the corner of the hospital bed. The nurse came in and said it was a good thing it happened in the hospital (jokingly) and got him a bandaid. I felt horrible when it happened but we can all laugh about it now. He is in 2nd grade and loves to tell people about how his mom broke his leg.

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Oh geez, don't us mothers feel bad enough as it is.
When my son was just a few weeks old I was carrying him to his bassinet and I misjudged and whacked his head on the door frame...oops, he never woke up but I felt like the worst mother ever!
When he was 9 months old I thought a tension gate would work for the top of the stairs...nope, he fell down all 13 steps. A trip to the ER, and a cat scan later he was fine but I felt terrible, again.
Just over a year old he ate a screw, I was right there in the same room and in one swift movement he popped it in his mouth and swallowed before I could do anything. Everything came out fine in the end.
I've stepped back and knocked him over so many times not knowing he was standing directly behind me.
He's now almost 2 and loves me more than anything so he doesn't hold these little things against me :)

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Oh my God, where do I start? I let my son roll off the bed when he was around 4 months old. Whoops...I didn't realize he could roll ANYWHERE, much less off the bed! My husband let my daughter roll off the SAME bed when SHE was four months old! My son pulled a glass-shaded lamp down on his head when he was around one. I accidentally shut his fingers in the car door about a year ago. Two of his fingernails turned black, we had to completely cut one of the nails off. He's fine now. Just yesterday my daughter was playing in the family room, had a fall, and hit her head on the coffee table so hard she didn't even cry. Both kids have hit their heads numerous times. They are kids! They fall, they bump, they run into walls and doorjambs and doorknobs. I'm not trying to be flippant about their bruises and bumps, it's just a part of childhood. Please don't feel bad, it was just an accident. Your daughter will probably have many more falls in the next few years! It was not your fault.

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I didn't double check that the gate at the top of the stairs was closed and my then 9 month old fell down the stairs (about 6 of them) all wooden and landed on tiled floor at the front door , she has blood coming from her nose and what I thought at the time her eye (turns out it was her forehead). I have never heard such a piercing scream/cry and I was completely freaked out and called 911...she was fine when they arrived and had stopped crying and the bleeding has stopped , I felt like that parent who completely over reacted but I was sure she had broken something , anyway she is now almost 3 and absolutely fine and normal!

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It's not your fault. She is little and it's not her fault either. You don't have to assign blame. You start doing that, you'll start not wanting to get out of bed in the morning.

Mine are teens now, so we've seen a good bit of injuries. Too many for me to want to write about here. My kids are also active boys and have been in numerous sports. Their dad's family have always been very active and athletic, and I would not have discouraged that just because I grew up a girly-girl.

But for purposes of your question, here's a little list:

Falling on ice and slicing the bottom of my son's chin. My mom and I were astounded - she fell when she was a kid and cut hers in the same place - the scar moved up as she grew up and it's now on her chin. And I fell off the back of a stationwagon onto gravel and did the SAME THING as my mom when I was the same age as my son. And MY scar grew up to my chin too! So far, his scar is still under his chin, which is great because he has a cleft chin like daddy.

My older son was jumping on a small trampoline in my mom's living room, in front of us all. All of a sudden, he landed funny, and flew into the piano four or five feet away, and opened up his upper lip, which required stitches. That was awful, much worse than his brother's chin. He SCREAMED the entire time, and since you can't immobilize a lip, they had to paralyze him. It was one of the most frightening moments as a mother that I've experienced. He even screamed when they took the stitches out, even though it didn't hurt. This same kid, in first grade, fell and tore his leg which also required stitches. It took a 6 ft 6 in male resident to come and hold him down while he screamed to give him stitches. My husband offered to stay, but I let him go with my younger son in the waiting room so that I would be the only one in the family to have to hear the screaming. Ditto the screaming part when he had to have a tetanus shot. Arghh!

After telingl my younger son numerous times that he should not jump off a swing, he did it and gave himself a green stick fracture in his wrist. He has never jumped off a swing again. (Thank goodness for small favors!)

I walked in one night from school and my older son and husband were sitting on the couch looking very subdued, and since my son should have already been in bed, I was surprised to see them there. My husband told me that Daniel had a boo-boo and wanted me to see it before he went to bed. I walked over and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a HUGE goose egg on my son's forehead! He had run over to the TV and hit his head. Good lord, I thought I'd faint. I got on the phone with the ped and described it, and at least he said it looked worse than it was. He was right - whew!

One morning my husband got up and picked up the toddler in one arm and the baby in the other to go down the steps, and he slipped and fell on his butt. He yelled so loud I thought they must be at the bottom of the stairs, but they weren't - he was just afraid. Once everybody got untangled, they were all fine. My husband never tried to carry both boys together again.

I could tell you so many more - too much for me to write and too much for you to read! But it is true that small boys bounce, and probably girls too!

D.

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Last month I was putting the tray on the high chair and I didn't notice my son's fingers in the way, so I snapped it on and walked away. 5 Seconds later the SHRILL from a banshee started and I saw. I felt so awful!!!!!! It broke the skin and everything!!!!! He had a scab for weeks :(

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These stories are true and have happened to acquaintanes:

My super tall friends, both parents over 6', dad is 6'7", picked up the baby after her nap, lifted her to sniff her bottom, checking to see if it was poop and needed immediate changing, heard this thump, thump, thump, thump.....he had lifted her straight into the ceiling fan. Her head is fine, Dad's head is super guilty.

Then football player friends: dad was playing with toddler in kitchen teaching him to charge, when the boy mastered it, the dad instinctively leaned to the side. The little boy ran straight into the kitchen cabinet splitting his eye, forehead, and lip open. It took a lot of stithes at the ER for that one.

I was swinging my daughter in a circle on our way back to our car, didn't see the curb, slammed into it, we both went flying and I landed right on top of her. Fortunately I instinctively got one arm under her head. But the weight of my body on top of her split her lip open and then made it hard to nurse. Did not need stitches. Just a lot of blood.

And I personally slammed my older daughters hand, then just 2 yrs. old, in the car door. This is before car seats, but I did strap her with the seat beltp, in the front seat even, before airbags there too, I noticed that she had leaned over slightly as I was walking away and slamming door simultaneously. She was bent over when I got into the car and THEN it donned on me - OMG - her hand....she was in too much shock to cry. I pushed the door open, ran around, carried her back inside and ran her hand underwater. She was only bruised, her little fingers were flexible enough to withstand the pressure.

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Well, they hurt us too. My uncle swung his head back when he was an infant and knocked out 2 of my grandmother's teeth. My MIL jumped onto her mom's lap when she was a toddler and broke her mom's thumb. Goes both ways LOL

We have friends who dislocated their toddler's elbow swinging her (you know, when you are walking on each side of them and swing). She then (a few months later) hopped off the bottom step of a step stool. Was a little sore on one leg. Still sore 2 days later, saw ped next day, orthopod the following day - she was walking on a tib/fib fracture for 5 days. Oops - both parents are doctors.

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Both of my boys have gashed their foreheads - the 17 month old did it at home on a coffee table and the 14 month old did it at daycare. Both required ER visits, one with stitches and one with glue.

Nothing felt as terrible as when I slammed my older child's fingers in the front door when he was 15 months old. The door didn't close all the way and I was going to slam it again even harder but then I finally realized WHY the door hadn't closed - because 4 tiny little fingers were trapped in there :( I *still* feel horrible and that was 3 years ago.

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We've had some "stair issues" in our home. Once (when I was pregnant with #2 and in the bathroom every 15 minutes) I neglected to put the gate up behind me when I ran up to pee - older son followed, fell and broke his arm - he was 18 months.

We had a contractor at our house and my husband and he went to the basement to check something. #2 followed them (I was reading to #1) and #2 fell most of the way down wooden steps to be caught by a horrified husband and frightened contractor before bashing his poor head on the cement floor. No serious damage other than a bruised head and scared adults.

#3 fell off the changing table - bruise/goose egg.

So far, no stitches. :)

J.

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When my son was probably 9 months old he had a bad runny nose, I cleaned his nose with the suction bulb ALL the time and I guess I was a little too confident in myself and didn't think I had to hold his head still or anything and he moved his head really fast and it went too far up his nose and started gushing blood for a good 15 minutes! I was so horrified and my husband was so pissed at me. I never used that thing on him again. Another time when he just started walking I didn't lock our front screen door like I usually would just to make sure he couldn't push it open and sure enough he went right over to the screen, pressed his hands up against it and went flying out the front door! I was across the room and I gasped and ran over to him. In the process of falling he bit his tongue and was bleeding like crazy! So many other little things have happened that I can't even remember, but those two I will never forget!

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went to zip my child's footies one time and caught her tummy. Ohhhhhh, not a good way to fall asleep. I stayed awake for an hour or so afterward beating myself up about it.

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well when my daughter was around age 2-3 her dad was messing around and lifting her up and pulled her elbow out of socket - we had to go to the ER and they basically just pushed it back in (very painful, i left the room) ..... she is 8 now and just last week i rolled up the car window and she was messing around and i closed her finger in the window (no major injury thank goodness).

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Last Christmas Eve (2009) I was rushing around with my 5 month old and son who would be turning 2 right after Christmas. We stopped at the local shoe store to pick up a last minute gift for my husband. I had him standing next to me while I got the baby's carseat out. I always tell him to keep one hand on the door so that way he isn't tempted to wonder out in the road. Well he sure listened to Mommy that time, because not even thinking I shut his fingers in the door...all 4 of them. It was AWFUL, we ended up missing Christmas Eve Service and spent the rest of the afternoon in the ER. Nothing was broken thank goodness. I felt like a horrible Mommy for the nest 3 or 4 days and I'm pretty sure I cried more than he did.

This next one could win me Mom Of The Year-

My daughter was maybe 14 or 15 months old and we were having a crazy night at home. The 2 year old was out of control throwing fits and acting up, we had a new puppy that was driving everyone insane and my husband happen to have pms that night. I put her dinner plate down on her high chair to cool, she wasn't in it yet. She had literally just started walking that week- so it never occured to me that she could reach it since I wasn't used to her being on the move yet. She pulled her plate down from the tray - food that was SCALDING hot and had just come off the stove minutes before- Well, she burnt all 5 fingers on both hands, we spent the night in the ER. She had blisters and scabs for weeks and was in so much pain. It was the scariest thing we have been through so far.

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Oh my. There are so many. I have 4 kids and these are just SOME of the injuries!!!

12 yr old- Broke his arm, burned his hand (on Gparents fireplace cover) and has had stitches in his chin 3 separate times.

10 year old- HUGE goose egg on his forehead from falling headfirst onto the pavement.
He also got his finger smashed by a sledgehammer(friend was smashing matchbox cars and his finger got in the way. I was praying to myself that the end of his finger wouldn't fall off in the sink while I ran water over the mangled flesh.)
He also got stuck in our old car and CRACKED THE WINDSHIELD with his head, trying to get out! Not just a little crack, but big enough it had to be replaced. Just brought him home from preschool and he was having a fit about something. I told him to come inside and I would make lunch. He was pouting, so I told him he could just take a minute, then get out and come on in. He accidentally locked the doors and couldn't get out! Guilt? Yep. Hard head, that one.
He also had the bonding glue on his forehead after his older brother pushed him down, and he fell against our fireplace hearth. This was right after we moved into a new house-barely knew anyone-didn't even know where the nearest ER was......2yr. old bleeding profusely from the head...yeah, stressful.

9 year old slept-walked during the night and burned her leg on the vaporizer (when she was 5). FIrst of all, I didn't know she slept-walked, then. Second, I hadn't replaced the heat vaporizer, because I always turned it off in the morning and she was told not to touch it. Guilt? Yep.

Some of these injuries were pure accidents that will happen, no matter what-falling on ice and needing stitches in your chin, falling and hitting your head on the parking lot pavement, etc. But, some made me feel like the worst mom in the world ....WHY wouldn't I get a cool mist vaporizer?? And, WHY would I let my kid and his friend smash matchbox cars??? Duh. I'm sure there are more to come, God help us. LOL!

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I had a bbq for my daughters high school graduation. The food was done, everyone had eaten and the kids went out back to play and jump on the trampoline while we cleaned the kitchen up. They were playing water guns. I guess my 4 yr old son was backed into a corner - the wrong corner. He backed into the bbq grill with no shirt on! Now this was long after we'd eaten, so it wasn't screaming hot or anything. No trip to the E.R. necessary. But it did hurt and left a red mark that turned into a scar. All our family and friends were there to witness my negligance! Guilt and embarassment all in the same glorious day.

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I knew we were in trouble when I took my 18month old son into the pediatrician's ....& the dr said, "well, it's nice to see you're allowing him to have a normal childhood". He was referring to the bruises & marks which were up/down both legs! So, we had a little chat & he told me that he'd rather see a happy kid with banged-up legs...than a grouchy brat. What an awesome doctor!

Anyway, my 23y.o. son had/has:
a scar by his eye from falling & hitting a bookshelf. He was 2.
a scar on his forehead from a similar event. Age 3.
chickenpox scars (just a few) around his hairline...which is already receding....can you believe it?!! Geez, he's only 23...& he has friends who are already balding!
broken hand (actually lost a knuckle!)...from punching a school locker door. Age 12.
broken hand (from punching a street sign) while goofing around w/ friends. What a dummy! Age 18.
torn ligaments/severely-sprained ankle...due to a fall at the Burger King playland. He was in a soft cast for 1 month, an air cast for another 3 months, & physical therapy for 12 weeks! ?age 11?
& let's not forget the degenerative hip disease to boot! He has scars from 3 surgeries thru his childhood trying to save the hip....which ended up being replaced last fall. As he said, "why don't we just put a zipper in?"

On the other hand, my 14y.o. son had/has:
a few chickenpox scars...from 2 full-blown rounds of it (age 4 & 13).
a scar on the back of his head as the result of staples when he fell out of the daycare van. Age 4.

& that's pretty much it. We're truly hoping our younger son's teen years are gentler (or luckier) than our older son's!!

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Obviously you aren't the only one by all the responses. When my daughter was 15 mo old she climbed on the toilet and fell and hit her head on the side of tub and got a concusion while I was taking a shower. My son when he was about 13 mo climbed out of his crib and tripped over something on the floor in my bedroom and fell and busted his head open on the bed frame. My son also ran into the corner of the house not paying attention b/c he was watching the dog. I spilled some prenatal vitamens when I was pregnant with my son and my daughter ate a couple of them. Both kids have eaten dog and cat food. My daughter has played in the kitty litter. Like another mom on her mentioned stepping back and tripping over them, I still do that and they are 7 and 9 lol. So don't feel bad we all do it.

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Playing ball in the hallway... "monkey in the middle" style... husband rolled the ball to me, I rolled it back... little one shrieking out of excitement took off down the hallway and ran face-first in the door jamb. Blood everywhere and a split lip- nothing broken but I thought we were both going to pass-out from fear.

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My son flew/crawled off the couch and bumped his head when he was 9 months old, resulting in a huge bump.

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Oh please don't open old wounds. lol.
My toddler fall sleep in the car so I took her on my arms and carried her in side the house, I didn't measure well and I hit her head on the door, I felt horrible!
When I was little I got in my aunt car and then at the last minute I put my hand out and she closed the door on my hand, sniff.
Is ok aunt I still love you!

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haha :) I was taking a skillet from the counter, down low to the cabinet. Yes, as I turned around, with the skillet in hand, my son walked up behind me. BIG FAT goose egg on his forehead instantly appeared.

After our ultrasound appt for our son, we were getting in the car. My husband opened the door, yes, just as our daughter walked up. Cut on her forehead and blood began to trickle. So he had to run back into the doctor's office for paper towels.

Other things have happened and I'm sure more is yet to come. They are only 3 & 6 ;)

I loved reading through all of these. It made me feel a little less guilty about mine.

When my younger daughter was 1, I grabbed the wrong bottle of medicine and put cat ear mite medicine in her eye instead of pink eye meds. Had to go to ER and have her strapped to a board while her eye was flushed for 5 LONG minutes.

My older daughter, when she was about 2 1/2, fell face first out of my truck onto her babysitter's driveway when I turned away for a moment to talk to the babysitter's daughter. No stitches or anything, but she looked like she'd been hit by the truck.

Once when pushing my older daughter on the park swings I actually pushed her so hard she flew out of the swing! No serious injuries but I wanted to crawl under a rock.

I think I should get mom-of-the-year for the ear mite medicine incident!

The other night, my hubby was sitting with our five month old on the floor, and three times within two minutes he toppled over, hitting his head because my hubby wasn't paying attention. I gave him trouble for not watching to make sure he didn't fall. Then last night, my son was doing the army crawl while I had my hands at his feet to help him push off of. He suddenly got up on all fours and propelled himself forwards, smacking his forehead into the coffee table. He had a giant white line straight across his forehead he hit so hard. So my hubby started giving me trouble for "not watching" and I burst into tears!

sigh....and worst mom ever award went to me when my daughter was 8. She was playing on the swing set and fell off after doing an acrobatic trick that I told her to stop doing. She fell big boohoos but no swelling , no red marks, no bleeding etc. So icepack till she stopped crying and that was that. For the rest of the week she would have a fit when it was time to put on her seat belt. that was the only time she complained and I said stop whining and put it on and shut up your waking up the baby. Finally at the end of the week I said come on were going to the doctor I have had it with this. And .... her wrist was broken. I felt horrible. she had a cast on for her first communion (we covered it with a plain white tube sock) Let me tell you the other kids probably went to the doctor more than they needed to because of that experience. She is 29 now and will still say remember when you let my arm be broken for a week..... just to raz me

At the beginning of January, just before my son turned two, he dislocated his elbow (nursemaid's elbow).
Him and I were walking and I was holding his hand. He thought it'd be funny to just drop down to the ground. Well, it ended up dislocating his elbow! I felt so terrible! We had to take him to the E.R. and have it fixed, which was totally easy and painless for him. But I was in tears, and I felt like it was all my fault!