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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask why people get so worked up over playground accidents!

46 replies

Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 11:22

I get we don't like seeing our kids injured but surely they get all the same injuries out of school too?
So why do people get worked up over them just because they're in school when surely the risk is increased by so much taking into consideration the amount of kids!
Charging around a playground will end up with bumps on heads, bruises and so on!
Am I missing something as all the threads I've seen recently parents seem insistent on keeping their kids scuff free which is absurd as a mother of a boisterous boy myself!

OP posts:
PinkSwimGoggles · 15/01/2017 11:25

yanbu
I rather dc are allowed to run and climb and suffer the odd bruise than being more sedentary which is bad for body&mimd.

Booksmakemehappy · 15/01/2017 11:29

I have no idea why people get so worked up. All 3 of my kids love "outdoor play" which sometimes results in bumps and bruises. Obviously I make sure that major risks aren't taken (no, DD you can't climb onto the shed and then bomb into the trampoline 6 feet away!) but just general play and rough and tumble is fine.

passmethewineplease · 15/01/2017 11:31

YANBU. Accidents happen.

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 11:31

I don't have a choice with mine as he is so determined he will do it anyway!
Just seems crazy to me that the bumps they surely get over a weekend becomes a massive deal because they've got them at school!

OP posts:
Rixera · 15/01/2017 11:34

I don't get it either. My OH is a lot more helicopter than me and I find it difficult as I'm in the 'let her play' camp and he is a lot more cautious- wary of letting her sit on her own on the other end of a seesaw fgs!

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 11:41

My OH doesn't like seeing our son get hurt but as I explain he isn't with him as much as I am, I know his capabilities and generally he only does what he can, if not it's an accident so what can you do!
He's always falling at school playing stupid games but I wouldn't be worried from a few bumps and scrapes - I want him to have fun!

OP posts:
That1950sMum · 15/01/2017 11:45

I agree with you.

My DS broke his leg while at school. Not doing anything silly, not the fault of the school just a genuine accident.

He was a legend with his mates for about a week!!

Mumzypopz · 15/01/2017 11:49

I think it depends on the accident. If it's a normal run if the mill accident, I wouldn't be complaining to the school or anything like that....As you say, accidents are part of life. However if it was a group of boys running after my child trying to push him over and shouting "yay, got him" when they succeeded, it's another story, and I'd want to know why it wasn't stopped by playground. Supervisor's.

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 12:25

But how can they see that happen with so many kids to so few members of staff?

OP posts:
tramstray · 15/01/2017 12:32

YANBU. Accidents happen. People are always looking for it to be someone's fault, they need someone to blame - it's just our culture nowadays. Parents are very quick to blame the school if little Johnny falls over, but short of keeping children locked up in individual padded cells there is no way teachers can keep an eye on everyone all the time.

It's interesting how these same parents would probably react very differently if their child fell over at home and a neighbour called Social Services because they thought that it meant the child wasn't being looked after properly!

tramstray · 15/01/2017 12:36

@Mumzypopz - what you're describing is not an "accident" which was the OP's original point. "Accidents" happen - I cut my finger on a box the other day whilst packing my shopping, but it's my own fault as much as / more than the supermarket's.

The example of a group of boys running after my child trying to push him over and shouting "yay, got him" when they succeeded is not an accident, it's bullying. Being injured through arsing about and being attacked by a pack of bullies is not the same thing.

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 12:42

I agree with you that this wouldn't be an accident but I still fail to see how the supervisors could see this happening in a standard 2 or 3 entry school
I'm not saying that makes it right, but it's the reality of it.

OP posts:
PurpleMinionMummy · 15/01/2017 12:49

I haven't seen anyone getting overly worked up? Perhaps because details are often vague? Sometimes it's not witnessed by an adult, kids might give different stories, my own kids will often tell me different details at different times totally changing how the situation looks .

FromIbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 15/01/2017 13:06

YANBU and I speak as someone whose DS broke his arm at school!

Accidents happen.

TheWitTank · 15/01/2017 13:10

YANBU. My DD badly broke her arm at school. I wasn't angry at the school at all for the accident -could have happened anywhere, just one of those things. I was however furious at their lack of first aid knowledge and the fact I wasn't contacted about the accident which happened in the morning until I got there at 3pm and my DD was in the classroom grey and sweating with a visibly deformed arm.

TSSDNCOP · 15/01/2017 13:26

I agree OP. A child slipped on play equipment at our school. Total accident, even if a supervisor had been next to them it would have happened. The parents went nuts and demanded the equipment be removed.

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 14:15

Oh Christ that's insane

OP posts:
multivac · 15/01/2017 14:23

The example of a group of boys running after my child trying to push him over and shouting "yay, got him" when they succeeded is not an accident, it's bullying.

Point of order, but a one-off incident isn't "bullying". It really annoys me when that word is mis/overused.

SaorAlbaGuBrath · 15/01/2017 14:25

I was however furious at their lack of first aid knowledge and the fact I wasn't contacted about the accident which happened in the morning until I got there at 3pm and my DD was in the classroom grey and sweating with a visibly deformed arm
I don't blame you for being furious at the way it was dealt with, or rather wasn't dealt with. Accidents happen but I would expect a school to have procedures in place to contact parents and make sure the child was ok.

ColourfulOrangex · 15/01/2017 14:25

I agree OP, the only time I have been annoyed with the school is when my son had a cut on his head and they didn't let me know until I asked them outright what had happened Hmm even then I understand accidents happen but would've been nice to know

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 16:53

Yes being informed is important but Bumps and bruises will happen

OP posts:
PinkSwimGoggles · 15/01/2017 17:40

tbh I would be worried if dc came home without being covered in mud and having bruises.
primary age dc should have shins covered in bruises!

Original poster
Headachehattie123 · 15/01/2017 18:32

Yep we have a family member who is a paediatrician and he actually said once he worries when he sees children without a few bruises as it can mean the parents are not allowing free play or are too over bearing!

OP posts:
cupsanddogs · 15/01/2017 18:43

Yanbu.
One of mine broke their arm on the school monkey bars. Not being silly just lost grip. The school banned her from the monkey bars :s

I had to go in and complain and write permission for her to go on.

bumsexatthebingo · 15/01/2017 18:55

Have I missed all the threads were people have been complaining about their kids having accidents?? I'm on here every day and I haven't seen one.