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Original poster

Can a toddler falling over cause a broken bone?

68 replies

nappyaddict · 08/03/2011 21:53

My friend's DS has fractured his arm at nursery today. The nursery could not tell her anything apart from that he must have fallen over. Can an ordinary fall cause a broken arm or does it have to be from a height or at speed like falling off a bike or falling on roller skates etc.

OP posts:
ilovemyhens · 08/03/2011 21:58

I would have thought it would need some kind of force to cause a broken bone in a toddler Hmm You can't just sustain one from 'falling over', unless he has some problem with his bones.

The nursery probably weren't supervising him properly and simply don't know how it's happened which is pretty bad really. When my ds2 was at nursery he was badly bitten by one of the other children and the nursery tried to cover it up and said he must have done it himself Shock

Your friend should investigate and demand a proper explanation.

mummynoseynora · 08/03/2011 22:01

it IS possible, but would need to land very awkwardly or from a height or whatever... my nephew broke his elbow at about 2yrs by falling off one of those tiny toddler slides... BUT they Should know what happened - boy would he have screamed!

RunningOutOfIdeas · 08/03/2011 22:03

It is possible for some types of fracture to occur from a simple fall. If he landed with his hand flat on the ground, the jarring force on his arm could cause a spiral fracture near the wrist.

teenyweenytadpole · 08/03/2011 22:03

Yes I know a little girl who tripped over her own feet on a grass lawn and broke an arm. Nursery staff cannot watch every individual child every moment of every day. and young children are forever falling over their own feet. I'd be more concerned about how the nursery handled it - were they concerned? did they call your friend immediately? If they seemed unconcerned or defensive then I'd be worried.

teenyweenytadpole · 08/03/2011 22:04

Oh and by the way this little girls Mum is a doctor, and she didn't realise the arm was broken for a day or two! Quite easy for it to happen and easy for it to be missed or misdiagnosed.

Original poster
nappyaddict · 08/03/2011 22:06

He did scream like hell - she was doing a family learning course upstairs and heard him. No one came to get her though she had to go downstairs to see what had happened.

OP posts:
fortyplus · 08/03/2011 22:08

My son broke a bone in his foot aged 3 by jumping off a 3' wall. He'd been doing it repeatedly and didn't land awkwardly - just the impact of jumping from that height broke the bone

Aranea · 08/03/2011 22:10

My 5yo broke her arm when she tripped over. You can actually do it just by falling over, and there doesn't need to be a problem with the bones for it to happen. The doctor at the fracture clinic told me that it's very common in children.

Original poster
nappyaddict · 08/03/2011 22:12

She heard him scream, left it 15 mins and then went down and he was sat on one of the creche workers laps in floods of tears.

Should they have gone and got her sooner or at least rung to say come down if there weren't any spare staff to go upstairs?

OP posts:
boosmummie · 08/03/2011 22:14

DD1 broke her foot twice in one year jumping into the swimming pool - deep end both times, just landed awkwardly. Evil mother that I am thought it was a sprain the first time and didn't go to A&E for 2 days.

cornsilkee · 08/03/2011 22:14

yes it is possible and it isn't always clear that a bone has been broken

boosmummie · 08/03/2011 22:15

I think they should have got her sooner though. 15 minutes is a lot for a small person to be crying after any fall with or without a break I would think.

meala · 08/03/2011 22:16

Yes, possible. I know a 2 year old who fell awkwardly and broke his leg very badly indeed.

Original poster
nappyaddict · 08/03/2011 22:16

They didn't really seem concerned - just told her to put a cold compress on it and it would be OK.

OP posts:
boosmummie · 08/03/2011 22:20

Personally I would be a bit concerned. I am not precious mummy at all, (see above....!) and I know they all have their bumps and scrapes, but as I said before 15 minutes imo is a long time to be crying after a bump for nothing more than just a scraped knee iyswim, particularly when they are toddlers.

cornsilkee · 08/03/2011 22:21

I would be concerned at the length of time the child was left as well

iskra · 08/03/2011 22:23

It is possible. I broke my arm at 4 by tripping over in the garden. My dad, who is a doctor, thought I was making a fuss about nothing.

At 10 I broke it jumping off one of those low benches you have in PE (or did have). About 2 handspans from the ground!

Original poster
nappyaddict · 08/03/2011 22:24

boosmummie Do you mean even with a scraped knee they wouldn't cry for 15 mins so if they are then there is obviously something wrong?

OP posts:
iskra · 08/03/2011 22:24

But the child wasn't left, when the mum went down he was sitting on a workers knee having a cuddle?

follyfoot · 08/03/2011 22:25

I broke an ankle tripping over my own feet, and a cousin broke his arm tripping over my Dad's foot so perfectly possible.

Original poster
nappyaddict · 08/03/2011 22:28

What is the protocol with accident forms, should she have been shown it today or do you have to ask to see them?

OP posts:
TequilaMockinBird · 08/03/2011 22:31

My DD broke hurt her arm at nursery by tripping up the top stair when she was 3. She cried briefly but didn't scream or anything. The nursery advised me to get it checked out at hospital to be on the safe side, which I did.

As we sat in the waiting room, DD was showing the other patients her handstands and cartwheels and so I thought everything was fine. Turned out after an Xray that she had fractured her radius!! Wasn't a complete break, but was 2/3 of the way through the bone! I still cringe now thinking about what could have happened mid-cartwheel

So yes, it is possible!

harecare · 08/03/2011 22:31

Maybe they were trying to calm him down? Maybe he was calming down a bit? If they were acting panicked and hyper worried it would not make him feel any better. If your friend is concerned with the way they dealt with the incident she can make a complaint to Ofsted, but I know if one of my DDs fell and broke a bone I'd probably wait at least 15 minutes before I called an ambulance as I wouldn't want to make a fuss out of nothing.
I hope he heals up OK.

harecare · 08/03/2011 22:32

When I was a childminder I would show the parents the form and get them to sign it that day. I think that's probably standard.

boosmummie · 08/03/2011 22:36

Well mine never cried for more than a few minutes with a scraped knee. And they didn't always cry really - i was usually more from the shock than the pain. My 3 older children (all teenagers now) have between them broken foot (twice) arm (2 of them - both falling out of tree), thumb, toe and DS almost lost top of finger at 3, but they really didn't cry unless it was serious. That's not to say that some children will milk it, but they do tend be older children from my experience. A toddler will generally stop crying pretty quickly if it's just a scrape. I also have a two year old who has a kamikaze attitude to life and when she has fallen and bumped herself, or grazed her knee she may bleat for a couple of minutes and I therefore know whether it's something to be worried about or to just distract, give her a kiss and she's back to hurling herself into whatever takes her fancy next!