Worried about my 5 yr old - bruises on legs

[sylviamath]

My 5 year old started school in autumn and every since she has fairly regularly been coming home with lots of little bruises on her lower legs (her shins). She'll have a patch of five or ten together, never above the knee, and always quite precise, like finger marks or systematic kicks. They take a couple of weeks to clear, though she says they don't particularly hurt.

We've brought this up with the teacher as it seems like sustained bullying of some kind (kicking or pinching), and my daughter does name other kids as the culprits (two names keep coming up), but she never tells the teacher at the time and so the only reporting mechanism we have is us noticing the marks when she has a bath and then mentioning it the next day. We kept an eye on it over half term and christmas and she wasn't getting any bruises then and so we are pretty sure it's something from school.

The teachers say they are observing it but haven't noticed anything happening, and of course we don't know what's going on there during the day. My daughter will say anything if asked but also won't tell the teachers.

We're really stressed out as we don't know what's going on and she keeps coming home with more marks. She bruises reasonably easily but nothing like this usually and the marks are very systematic.

The teachers don't seem to be doing anything to fix it, only keeping a lot of records to confirm that they haven't observed it, if you see what I mean. They've made me doubt it to the point I've now looked up medical conditions that make you bruise easily - but there isn't one that would make you bruise just on your shins and only at term time!

Of course I know children get bruises from playing but this isn't like that, they're very regular, painful-looking little marks.

Does anyone have any advice or ideas?

Could you get a book about bullying/ asking for help when you need it? Try some role play about being assertive. I do this with my 4 year old about practising using your strong voice and saying ' Stop it. I don't like it.' etc

Is it happening under the table ?

Agree with other posters about really stressing that she has to tell a teacher straightaway and possibly getting a book on bullying. Your library should have some.

I’d put your concerns in writing though and ask for a written response within say 7 days. Keep it fact based, and unemotional but I’d make sure I said that no new bruises appeared over The a Christmas break and ask what steps they are going to put in place to ensure your DD won’t be bruised in this way again.

Or could it be that healthy active five year olds get lots of bruises on their lower legs? If your pushing her to say it’s bullying might than not encourage her to say it was to please you ( as that might appear what you want). You’ve raised concerns with the school and they are monitoring it. Unless it was odd bruises (such as a handprint or on the back of the calf rather than the front, I’d just keep an eye.

It's not really tight socks or something is it? Or squishing her legs in between the desks or something? Sounds a bit far fetched, but as it's so consistent would be strange to be another person?

I bruise very easily and when I go skiing I come back with practically black shins from the ski boots, so something pressure wise could be doing it?

I wonder whether she’s bumping her shins against something in the classroom? A bar underneath a particular chair, or leaning against something while she’s playing? I know when I was a classroom teacher I had a constant bruise on my thigh from pushing chairs under tables as I walked past and one a little lower down from bumping into the edges of the tables!

Shins are THE most common place for little bruises on children, because firstly they bruise easily and secondly because the shins are the bits with very little cushioning fat underneath and get caught and knocked on climbing frames/play equipment etc. It’s highly likely that there’s nothing sinister.