Pls reassure me- not typical for baby to end up at a&e while at nursery??

[MummyOfSunbeam]

Hi all! Would love some reassurance here! Any of you ever had a baby/toddler at nursery - who DIDN'T end up at a&e? Because an acquaintance at a baby class I go to had a phone call from nursery staff at a&e where thy had had to rush her 13 month dd when she fell and hit her head (had been walking for four months and got over confident, and really hurt her head dramatically but was eventually fine despite open wound!)

I am just hoping this kind of dramatic injury is rare, because I am already hating to be having to leave her, and that experience sounds rather harrowing - i am having to drag myself to work with a lassoo practically, and this kind of thing would make it a lot harder. I understand bumps and stuff are inevitable, but head lacerations and being called from hospital - is that typical? Should I realistically be braced for that kind of call too?

[dribbleface]

Whats typical,is whats typical for the child....some seem more accident prone. As a nursery manager in the past 15 yrs only had 1 a&E accident, and 2 999 illness jobs...........but many many many of the children have came in with stitches, broken arms/legs etc where they have had an accident at home. accident are just that, accidents and might happen anywhere.

As long as you are confident of the supervision of the children in your chosen nursery, the management and staff, try not to worry.

Oh and both my boys have been at nursery, no a&E trips for us.

[dotty2]

DD2 had quite a nasty injury at nursery. She was running across the room (they weren't supposed to run, but she was dashing for a friend and all excited) and tripped over her own feet and hit her face on the corner of a table. No cut and no A&E trip, but a very nasty bruise and a big dent/soft tissue injury that was visible for several months. The early years teacher was practically in tears when she told us about it because it looked so awful, and she felt so bad. But here's the thing - it could absolutely have happened anywhere. It could easily have happened at home, at a friend's, in the park. It was just one of those things. Nursery couldn't have reasonably done anything to prevent it.

DD1 has had a few A&E trips in her time, all while in our care - falling off a bike, running along using a cardboard tube as a telescope and falling and it cutting her eyelid...These things happen. Your DD is no more likely to get injured at nursery than anywhere else. It's completely understandable that you feel anxious about leaving her, but as long as you are comfortable with the nursery's standards of care, she will be just as fine there as with you. I think you might be looking for a focus for your - very understandable - anxieties, but don't fret.

[Lifeisontheup]

I worked full time in a day nursery for six years and never had to call 999. I now work full time for the ambulance service in a big town and have never been to a job at a nursery so I would imagine it's quite rare.

[scaevola]

Even in a really well run nursery, children do sometimes have accidents. I can think if only one that resulted in a child (not mine) being taken to A&E whilst mine were small. I was once called in when one of mine had tripped and landed badly on a tractor and we went to emergency dentist.

The key think is whether you have confidence that the nursery is well run, and the staff know what to do when there are injuries (and it's inevitable there will be some, but most are minor bumps).

The times we've ended up in A&E have all been when DC were in my/DH's care.

[Meglet]

In 5yrs of using nursery for both dc's (4 days a week) they have never been to A&E. AFAIK none of their little friends have either.

Nusery don't wrap them in cotton wool either. I've seen them tearing around the climbing things when I've dropped off / collected.

[RikeBider]

More likely to have an accident/illness requiring A&E attendance at home than at nursery. Nurseries are generally more H&S regulated than typical homes!

[Yonihadtoask]

Ds was often in A & E - and all of those times were when I was looking after him ): Oh, apart from once at primary school.

He was always fine at nursery - and they have loads of children to watch. I only have the one.


Accidents happen - and can happen anywhere. I don't think you would say that a nursery is more/less dangerous than the home.

[Dackyduddles]

Oh do get a grip op. it's no more likely at nursery than in your own house.

[ReetPetit]

lol

[SummerRainIsADistantMemory]

Kids injure themselves in the stupidest ways. Dd broke her leg when she was 4 by jumping off a 2 foot wall onto grass!

I was sent from school/camps to a&e more than 20 times as a child, I was astonishingly accident prone

You can't prevent it and worrying about what ifs will just drive you mad.

I have 3 children, 8, 7 and 4 and I've only had two a&e visits yet, and one stitch up job at the docs.

[Kez171271]

Deputy manager for 12 years in a nursery. Never had a 999 and only 3 minor a and e after ringing parents. None required any treatment.

[ChippingInWiredOnCoffee]

Children have accidents - they are just as able to fall over their own feet at nursery as at home and it's no-one's fault. In some ways they are slightly less likely to get hurt at nursery than they are at home because it is more 'child proof'.

[breatheslowly]

When we went to view DD's nursery the manager said "we'll call you if she is ill, but obviously we will call 999 first if we need to". Somehow it sounded like they call 999 regularly, but when I asked she said it had been 3 times in her 20+ years in nurseries and those times actually turned out not really to be emergencies, but the children liked seeing the ambulance and paramedic!

As a child I tripped in nursery and hit the corner of a table. I remember lots of blood and needed stitches through my eyebrow. I guess that would be an A&E trip now (not sure if it would be a 999 job or call the parent to take them). But most A&E trips, whilst scary aren't life threatening.

[MummyOfSunbeam]

Thanks very much everyone - I apologise for being an idiot!

Thanks for not showering me with thousands of (prob well-deserved) biscuits and giving reassurance :)

[BramblyHedge]

My three have ended up in a and e many times either due to accident or breathing issues. Sometimes the injury happened at school but never has anything happened at nursery to warrant a and e. It could though as accidents can happen anywhere.

[ReallyTired]

Accidents can happen anywhere even with the best of supervision. There is a difficult balance between giving the children the chance to excercise and explore and keeping them safe.

Nurseries are very different to homes in that they are set up purely to look after children. It is not practical or even sensible to baby proof a house to the level that OFSTED insists on. In a house there has to be a balance between the needs of the adults and the children. (Ie. an under three room would never have small lego, but a house with a seven year old and a baby is quite likely to have lego.)

My daughter went to A and E after bumping her head on the sideboard at 16 months old. In a commerical care setting all sharp corners should be padded and there are about ten million baby gates. In her old private nursery she only ever had trival scrapes.

Nurseries have to have the right to call 999 without calling the parents first otherwise you would end up with dead children. Things like unknown food allergies or asthma can take the best of nurseries by surprise