Bruising and nusery

[Bbc1HD]

Hello all!

I have a very active 10 month old who is constantly on the move, exploring and into everything.

As he is now cruising he has no regard to what's on the floor and will drop I'm self to the floor landing on whatever is there. He has no fear either... Basically he is your typical boy!

Because of this he constantly gets bruises! I'm a naturally anxious person and I worry about everything.

My son goes to nusery 3 days a week and I'm worried what they will think about his bruises.

For instance he has a tiny one on the back of his thigh from standing and then letting go and landing on a toy. One on his forehead from banging his head and just this morning he fell back onto the skirting board and had a red mark on his back!

It's giving me horrible anxiety that the Nursery will report me to social services.

Can anyone relieve my anxieties? I'm constantly watching him like a hawk but he still manages to hurt himself!

My DS was covered in bruised when he was just starting to walk, and it felt like every day at nursery I had to mention a new one (they had a policy where you let them know about things when you drop off and they do a form if significant so both know if he was injured at nursery.

They work with kids this age all the time and will be used to it, and he'll be doing the same at nursery and getting bruises there too. I think most kids go through this stage!!

Children will always tumble and bang themselves and whatnot. Everyone knows this and won't judge, including nursery staff.

What might help is to think about this from a different point of view.

Imagine another child in your nursery who did have suspicious looking bruises. Would you be happy with the staff if they chose to ignore the bruises for fear of offending anyone?

Would you be happy with your son going to ^that kind of nursery?
Would you feel the staff were keeping children safe in ^that kind of nursery?

It is always a good thing that people who look after children ask questions about bruises and marks. It doesn't matter that 99% of cases there is a simple and reasonable reason for the bruise, because it really matters that the staff question the 1% (it will be less than 1%) that are non-accidental bruises or marks.

So you need to stop being worried about being asked. Being asked about marks is a sign that you have a good nursery where staff ensure the children are safe.

Having the bruises and marks is not unusual, most new walkers and toddlers get them - because falling over a lot is part of learning to walk / run / climb / jump / hop / scooter... and all the other fun and active stuff children do.

No one is expecting any child to have no bruises or marks. But we should all expect every nursery staff member to be vigilant enough to notice marks and bruises and ask the parent about them if concerned.

You shouldn't be offended or bothered by being asked. This isn't a suggestion they will take it further with SS. They will only do that if you can't give a reasonable explanation or if the bruises become suspicious in the frequency, severity or placement.

Thanks ladies, I really appreciate your messages!

I agree, it's a great thing for them to be observant it's just that you read things about kids being taken away when the parents were innocent and it makes my anxiety sky rocket because I love my son so much and that would be my worst nightmare.