My 3.5 year old ran into a zip wire at the park

[PrincessHail]

Posting here for traffic.

He ran straight into one of those mini zip wires at the playground. The thing seat the boy was coming down on hit him and he fell onto the ground and hit the back of his head.
The ground was tarmac.
I literally took my eyes off him for a second, I’m so annoyed at myself because I’m usually a ‘helicopter’ parent.

He wasn’t knocked out and cried pretty much immediately after the initial shock. No vomiting as yet and seems alert and as normal , just had an ice lolly.

I thought maybe we should go straight to A&E but my partner thinks watch him this evening and monitor how he is until bedtime.

Does anyone have any experiences of this? I always watch him like a hawk, especially around swings etc. I’m so frustrated and upset at myself.

I’ve added a pic of the kind of thing I’m talking about (not the exact one).

That bouncy rubber floor? He'll most likely be absolutely fine. Your DP is right, just keep an eye on him and I'm sure he'll be fine.

Or common sense by the sound of it

Then he'll be absolutely fine - it's designed to minimise injury.

Just want to urge anyone considering doing this who can't get to a doctor to head straight to your local opticians.
I think any optician would look straight away. They can see signs of swelling.
An optician has just saved my son's life.

iRun2eatCake · 17/05/2022 17:21

Lupyto

does Shining a torch in the eyes to see if pupils shrink still a recommended way to check for any brain inflammation? I don’t think it would hurt to phone 111 to ask advice if you are worried

Only if you're medically trained and know what you're looking out for

Yes I'd do this. 111 are good for this sort of thing.

111 took over 48hrs to ring me back when my dc was pissing blood (gave up and took to A&E in the meantime!) not sure how bothered they'd be by a child who's not showing any symptoms of anything.

I just shone a torch in his eyes/ , his pupils retracted as they should.

I always do that shining torch thing but maybe it gives false sense of security if you aren’t medically trained.

This won't be the first time he has a bump or fall op. It's how he'll learn not tonrun in front of things.

I remember taking my first to a&e because he vomited after a bumped head....we did say to the dr that he had also just eaten his own body weight in party food and they agreed with that given how he was bouncing around a&e it was highly likely the vomiting was food related and not head bump related. They told us what to look out for over night and to come back if he stoped being normal in any way.

They are designed to cushion falls such as a child falling off the zip wire not just being knocked over. He should be fine.

DS flipped off of a zip wire at four and was fine. Sure it would have been removed here as it came to a very sudden stop and the child before him had also fallen off.

A&E??! No wonder the waits are so flipping long 🤦‍♀️

if you don't take him to be seen* then check that you can rouse him once he's asleep tonight. I'd also set an alarm for 2/3 am & check again.

I wouldn't take him if he's fallen on to rubber, cried immediately & doesn't have any swelling and if his memory is ok.

You need to stop helicoptering, he needs to learn to be aware of dangers for himself and he won't if you don't give him any space & opportunity.

you need a sweet tea or a glass of wine!!

My 3 year old fell from a height at the park and landed on his back. His reaction was similar to what you describe but we went to A&E and they said to me first half hour is critical if there is any damage.
Take him to be checked out if you're worried but I hope that's some reassurance

Its ok to be worried op.try to keep calm and rational.you no his character.you no his usual demener.
Keep a watchful eye but try to keep perspective.
Treat him.make him feel nice tonight.
Go with your gut if anything changes.hes your child it's ok to want to protect him and feel over the top,despite what were told on here.

So, he got knocked over at the park and cried.

He seems fine. He's eating. He's acting his usual self?

He's fine?

Why do you think he needs medical attention? Any severe swelling? Bruising? Bleeding? Unusual behaviour?

Please don't waste A&E time if he's fine in himself

I agree with @Laszlomydarling

being a helicopter parent, to use your own language, appears to have warped your view of normal. He bumped his head, on a rubberised surface. That is not the same as tarmac. He didn’t lose consciousness and is completely fine. Are you normally very anxious?

This was my first thought.

Mine did exactly the same. I can still hear the thud. Dont blame yourself these things happen

It wouldn't even occur to me to have taken mine to a&e after that. Surely that's a regular kind of thing to happen with small children and comes under bumps/scrapes etc?

All the "helicopter parenting" in the world won't stop your child having accidents. They just happen.

Try to chill out a bit OP - being on high alert all the time (and so critical of yourself) won't help you or your child.

shining a bright line directly into his eyes is likely to have done more damage than a fall over

Mine fell from height backwards on to concrete once. He cried for a bit and then was okay, but the fall was so bad I couldn't believe he wasn't seriously hurt, so I took him to A&E. After hanging out in A&E for about 4 hours the conclusion was that he was absolutely fine. The lesson i learned is that the back of children's heads can be amazingly strong.

Best advice I ever got from an A and E doctor about concussion/head injuries was”worry if they act like a drunk toddler”, ie slurring, unable to stand or walk straight, being sick or sleepy. Never forgot it, kept me calm over the years!

Kids fall down.
Tripping and face planting and many others

Helicoptering will just make your DC anxious, insecure, and feel like they can't do anything.

Please try not to be a helicopter parent - it's not good for you or your kids. When we were little our parents were never constantly hovering to check we were ok. I know it's hard but it's a good life lesson .

Please don't go shining bright lights into small children's eyes thinking you can reasonably interpret what their pupils do and hence deduce whether medical attention is needed unless you actually know what you're doing. Jeez.