Somersault gone wrong

[ESDowning]

On the weekend I took my little girl who will be 2 at the end of this month and she tried to slide off a short soft slanted cushion thing head first and she did a roll over / somersault without her head tucked in so she literally flipped over with her head completely bent backwards 😭 it was HORRIFIC to see and I ran to her and she just lay there still, I picked her up and she was kinda floppy for a few seconds and was trying to catch her breath (I think she winded herself) and after a few seconds started crying. After about a min or 2 she wanted to play again and she carried on like normal but whenever I asked if her neck was sore she would say yes and show me her neck. Afterwards I took her to a friend of mine who was a registered doc and she evaluated her and said everything was fine. I then took her to our family doctor yesterday and he confirmed she is fine and when I ask her now if her neck is sore she says no. I've been beating myself up since and can't stop thinking about how it could have turned out because it looked like she could have broken her neck😭 has anyone's little ones fell like this before? Am I overreacting?

She’s your little girl, it’s never an over reaction it’s always better to be safe than sorry, it’s been a shock to you and definitely for her. If you’re still unsure take her to the hospital if it will put your mind at ease. But don’t beat yourself up kids will have accidents xx

As a 6/7 yo I did a head stand on the sofa. I fractured my neck. Scared the absolute shit out of my mum.

My dc are NOT allowed to do the same.

Glad your wee ones ok, it could just be a muscle sprain.

You weren't overreacting in getting her checked, its better to be safe than sorry.
However I have seen toddlers do things that I would have thought would really really hurt if it happened to an older child or adult... and they have been fine!

Once saw someone else's dc fall off some soft play so they landed completely vertical but upside down. They bounced off they head... and were completely fine. If that happened to me, I would have broken my neck I think.

If she has been checked over, and is able to play as normal and has no lasting pain, then I don't think you need to worry.

This stuff happens, try not to beat yourself up. We try to be vigilant, but the only way to 100% stop toddlers having accidents would be to severely restrict their play, which would cause worse issues!

@TheCanyon stupid question but did you know straight away that something was seriously wrong? I'm so glad to hear you made a full recovery! I can deal a broken arm or leg maybe but anything to do with the head, neck and back scares the outta me 😂

@SquishySquirmy thank you so so much for the reassurance ❤️ I really appreciate it! I've always been the laid back parent and always say my husband is like our daughter's tail but now I don't blame him for being that way. Can never be too vigilant x

Oh god I know exactly what you mean OP as reading your post brought back the memory of my 2 yo son doing the same manoeuvre. He'd jumped full force off a headboard onto a bed. I was terrified and was sure in that moment that he'd broken his neck as how on earth does a neck bend that way 😭 he turned out absolutely fine and I was more shaken up than he was.

You haven't overreacted though OP it's really frightening when something like that happens and it's always best to check if you think something might be wrong ❤️

This also brought back memories for me when I saw an older child do this at soft play about 25 years ago! Seriously, the image is etched in my memory because I was convinced they'd broken their neck. I think all was well but I totally understand why you felt and still feel traumatised. I do too, and the child wasn't mine.
Hope she makes a swift recovery

Kindly, YABU to beat yourself up over this. It was a split second accident, you did the right thing getting her checked out, but she’s fine.

Yep, I know exactly the kind of toddler headstand you mean! It looks like they've just about snapped their head off their neck and then they just get up and are fine. She probably just shocked herself a bit.

They are very, very flexible OP - don't fret about it!

Bless her, I bet she just bruised it and hit a bad fright. You’ve had her checked over and you know it’s all fine so I would maybe just discourage any monkey climbing/launching around as far as possible for the time being! Maybe when she’s a bit bigger something like gym tots to get it all out - mine went to something like that about 2 and a half, it was great for letting them chuck themselves about in a safer environment!

Oh poor you and poor dd! When I was 12 a boy in my school picked me up and dropped me upside down on my head, I landed on a desk and then a steel bar, my mum spent 48 hours not sleeping because she worried I had a concussion 😁 I'm sure your little girl will be absolutely fine, kiddies have accidents!

You were right to get her checked. I think most children do something like this at some point to be honest!

Wasn’t sure which way to vote but went for yanbu as you haven’t done anything wrong

Could have been yabu for beating yourself up I guess!