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).

Have you thought about getting help for anxiety op?

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

I think that's right but a gp or optician could do it thus avoiding A and E. [if daytime!!]

... all hail bouncy tarmac anyway.....

Essentially he got hit, fell over on playground tarmac, cried and then was absolutely fine with no bruises, marks or continued complaints ... what exactly is the issue?

Kids fall over all the time, you need to get used to them getting the odd knock, scrape and bruise. Unless he is displaying worrying symptoms (headache/dizziness/vomiting/sleepiness/generally out of character behavior etc) why on earth would you even consider A&E?

don't blame yourself and it's a painful learning lesson for him!

Is there pride in being a ‘helicopter parent’? 😬

He’s almost certainly fine, OP. You would know if a kid had a head injury, they go downhill quickly. Also that tarmac stuff is essentially sponge. Maybe consider allowing him more freedom so he can learn to manage himself and his own safety. He currently doesn’t have to as you manage it for him.

The OP is clearly worried about her child and all of this sneering is really low. Surely most of you were first time parents at one point?

One of mine had a similar, very hard bump on her head when she was about two. We took her to A&E, and, naturally, she was bouncing around the examination room without a care in the world. We were mortified but the doctor reassured us that we did the right thing and that it's always best to get head injuries checked out in toddlers.

If he fell on a RUBBER floor he’s fine. Generally speaking if they start crying quickly and stop quickly (within 10 minutes) and seem alert and normal in themselves they are fine. If he fell on rubber from his body height, he is absolutely fine.

100% this!!!

Even if he fell on soft tarmac, not one of you sneering knows how hard the zip line hit him or what angle it hit him from.

OP made the mistake of saying she's a helicopter parent and you've all jumped on it accusing her of being over anxious when you have no idea if her definition matches yours. Hopefully you feel happy with yourselves for kicking someone when they're down and worried.

Op I hope he's OK and slept well at night (I have no doubt you didn't from the shock)

My boy did this at the same age and was fine