Need Advice 5 Year Old Keeps Falling

I think it is worth seeing a doctor. You don't want one of her spills to lead to a serious injury. Could even be a vision problem. Kids that need glasses sometimes can't judge depth perception very well and are clumsy. My stepson was like that. plus he got headaches a lot. He has had glasses since kindergarten. If nothing else a check up will at least alleviate some of your fears.

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J.,
I think you should go just to be safe....my son falls alot and has some kind of bone condition.....it is mild, and will correct itself with time...never be sorry when it comes to your children...no matter how silly you may feel.

W.

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I'd go to the doctor-- it could be anything from an inner ear infection to something worse. At the very least, it might scare her into stopping it if she's just faking.

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My mind doesn't go initially to eyes actually. My nephew had the same problem when he was in Kindergarten. He was getting dizzy, tipping his head a lot and fallin a lot. Turns out he had a softball sized tumor in the back of his head pressing on his brain. He had it remove and it was not cancerous thank God! But he still does have some effects from it. For the most part he is a normal kid though. If I saw one of my kids having balance issues that are out of the ordinary I would definitely have them checked out. I hope everything turns out OK for you.
Blessings!

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My three year old kept falling like yours. I took her to the eye dr and turns out she needed glasses. Once she had them the falling stopped. I wouldn't consider it a waste because it could be fluid in her ear causing her to fall or her eye sight.

DOES SHE NEED GLASSES? OR MAYBE IT IS AN ATTENTION GETTER i KNOW AS A CHILD I WAS CLUMSY BUT NEVER FELL THAT MUCH. DID SHE GET HER EYES CHECKED AT PRESCHOOL? just a thought. M. c

Hi J., Wow, sounds like your daughter is just like my youngest...we used to joke that she was a brusie waiting for a place to be! I suggest you enroll her in dance class. Learning tap & ballet will teach her how to control her body and move more gracefully. It will also give her self-confidence, and teach her focus. You could also try gymnastics. You should mention it to your Doctor at your next check up, but I don't think you need to make a special appointment, some kids are just clumsier than others. My daughter took dance for 7 years and we noticed a difference in her "falling" within the first year. Best wishes.

No question in my mind, take her to the doctor!

Has she had an eye test recently?

I would insist on an MRI of her brain as well.

I think her health and well being is worth $20.00, not to mention your peace of mind.

Has she had an eye exam?

I am sorry that this is happening to your little girl. I feel concerned that this could be seizures or drop attacks or some reason that her balance is not working right. Good decision to call the doctor, I would spend some time talking with the doctor, and make sure that tests are ordered.
Also video tape some of these falls if you can or count how many in a day, count in how many of them she hurt herself, etc
Be proactive, a mom's instinct is her best tool
It would be wonderful if it turns out that it was the shoes after all.

Hi J.,

I think it is definitely worth it to take her to the dr. She may need glasses, or something else. I think that if it's been happening for over a year and the injuries are increasing , I believe that she should be seen and checked out.

Good Luck,

L.

I would call the doctor. Maybe she has a problem that is affecting her balance. My six yr old is kind of clumsy so I took her to the eye doctor for a check up.

You may be overreacting -- but wouldn't it be worth $20.00 to find that out ? If you're not overreacting, it'd be well worth the investment . . . . it could be that she's fine, but her toes might both point inward or something that makes it easier to stumble. I'd pay the 20.00. That's one trip to McDonald's to feed the kids, and you'd probably do that without thinking about the $$$.

J.,

I am sorry to sound harsh or cruel here to yourself and that is not my intention, but when I see a price or dollar sign to this note you wrote I find it disturbing. First and foremost....go with your motherly instinct!! If I listened to my husband everytime he thought i was overreacting and didn't take my child to the peditrician, I would have been in the emergency room eventually. Your daughter may have something going on with her equalibrium (sp?) have her checked!!..isn't $20 worth your sanity of knowing there isn't anything or could be something serious going on here? When it comes to a child and I cannot tell you the amount I have put out just to know my child was ok....and for the most part...I wasn't overreating at all...in the end it was something truely going on!!
Again, this isn't a nasty mail....it's going with a mother who has been through some growing pains of my own. You've asked for an opinion or advice...you got it! Good luck!
Teresa D.

If you feel concerned, I would call the dr's office and even leave a message to talk to a nurse or dr before bringing her in. I have three kids and they tend to fall a lot too but it's usually when they're running with the wrong shoes on (sandals, flip flops etc). But I do remember my oldest falling all the time and I always thought maybe it did have to do with the shoes he was wearing. In his case, his shoes were always getting too small. So I would take him to get his foot measured and sure enough, that's what it was. He just needed a bigger size shoe. And that usually helped.

I wonder if your daughter could have an eye problem. My son, 11, can be really klutzie sometimes and with the trouble he has had with his studies, a teaching specialist who works with special needs children, feels that that is my son's trouble. Not that his eyes can't see well, but that the 2 eyes don't function properly together. If you would like to know more about it, you may e-mail me privately at ____@____.com and I could give you more information and what can be done to remedy it. Hope that you find the answer.

J.,
'YES YOU DO WANT TO SPEND $20.00 to over- react '
BEFORE YOU DO ;
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS :
1= IS DADDY A LONG LEGGED MAN ?
2= IS MOMMY LONG LEGGED?
3=DO PARENTS HAVE BIGGER FEET ?
4= DOES SHE HAVE MUSCLE TONE ? LOOK AT HER CALFS.
5= CAN SHE RIDE A BIKE , JUMP ROPE , SWING ?
6= HOW DOES SHE WALK UP AND DOWN steps ? PAY ATTENTION .
7= CAN SHE HOP ON 1 FOOT EASY .
nOW ; IT MAY BE A SIMPLE MATTER OF HER FEET AND LEGS ARE TOO LONG FOR HER TOROS[ AS OF THIS AGE] OR SHE HAS MEDICAL MUSCLE ISSUES. IF YOU ARE WORRIED ...YOU ARE CORRECT ... YOU ARE MOMMY .
PS= SHE MAY NEED GLASSES . SIGHT CAUSES FALLS.
GOOD LUCK
HOPE IT IS JUST BIGGER FEET FOR HER AGE !
A GRAMMY
PS= A FEMALE CHILD DEVELOPES LOWER BODY MUSCLE TONE BEFORE UPPER BODY TONE .

Take her to the doctor. If nothing is wrong then no loss but if there is you'll be glad you did.

I don't understand your hesitancy to call a doctor. I would go ASAP, especially if this has been going on for a year. I would see the pediatrician and then, if need be, perhaps a pediatric neurologist at CHOP or St. Chris.
Good luck.

My daughter and several other children I know fall all the time. Grace can be standing still and fall or literally trip over the air. i would not be concerned in the least. They're growing so much and having to get used to different proportions.