Children’s Bumps and Falls

Every parent is generally speaking very concerned with the security of their children. We try to teach our little ones about dangers and protect them from harm. However kids are naturally inquisitive and want to try out everything for themselves, often over-judging their capabilities. They also develop new milestones suddenly so that parents are caught off guard when the little one suddenly rolls over for the first time, manages to escape the confinement of the cot or reaches suddenly previously unreached heights of medicine cupboards.

It is usually very shocking for everyone involved to have the experience of your child suddenly falling from the bed or dressing table etc. Worse are all the judgmental comments that follow like “why did you not watch the baby better?” or “how could you?” etc.
Good to know that nearly every one of us had some or other fall or head bump when we grew up and that no amount of surveillance or security measures by parents will make 100% sure that such things do not happen. And most of us made it despite the bump with only little harm. Children in general are very resilient. However, there are some signs to watch out for if your child has fallen from a height or bumped the head.

Some of the worrying symptoms are passing out after the incident (even if waking shortly afterwards again this needs to be checked urgently!), confusion, seizures (pulling stiff and/or jerking of the body), vomiting, dizziness, persistent and worsening headaches, weakness or numbness of body areas, difficulty seeing, sensitivity to light or noise, bleeding or fluid draining from mouth, nose or ears, difficulty speaking/making sounds as normal for the child, restlessness and agitation or unconsolable crying.

It is normal for a child that got hurt to cry for a while but should calm down rather quickly when consoled. If in doubt you should always bring your child to a medical professional to be checked out. You should expect to be admitted for observation for 24 hours particularly if any of the above danger signs are present. In some cases your health professional will be happy with observation only (either at home or in hospital), while in other cases a CT scan of the brain will be required.

Even though not every fall and bump can be prevented, there are some precautions parents can and should take to minimize danger for their kids:

Be present when children are approaching dangerous areas or unsecured or potentially climbable heights, always have a hand on the baby when dressing on a baby station, secure staircases until the child is able to securely climb stairs alone, never let babies or small children bath or swim unsupervised (even for a few seconds), avoid table cloths with heavy items or hot drinks placed on them, secure stoves and open fires from kids reach or interference, check food temperature before serving, make sure small items such as coins or peanuts are out of reach of toddlers and lock up medications and dangerous substances (including detergents, pesticides, rat poison and paraffin) or store out of reach of children.

In short:
Many accidents for children can be prevented but not every possible accident situation can be foreseen. Children and babies do have accidents. Important is to know what to watch our for when your child has had an injury to the head and to consult an experienced health professional if any danger signs are present or if in doubt.