Protecting my face when playing with children or my nice and nephew

[jordanking]

Hello,

When i'm playing with my children, one thing i'm extremely cautious of is protecting my face so that I don't get hit in the face with any toys.

I'm worried about my child accidentally hitting me in the eye with a toy and blinding me, or even just poking me in the eye. (I know the probability of going blind is not high, but even so that's not something I would ever want to risk)

So whenever my child is playing with my hair or my nose or anything, i've usually got my eyes closed as you know how sudden and erratic children's movements can be.

For example, the other day I had my child on top of me, and I kind of had my hands 6 inches away from my face to protect my face, and it's lucky I did because my other child came over and was very excited and threw a rock hard toy that would have hit my directly in the face had I not had my hands covering it.

I was wondering, firstly whether any parents out there take precautions like this?

And secondly whether you have any tips for protecting yourself, as it can take the fun out of things if i'm always on alert for being hit in the face when they're playing close to my face.

I couldn't find a single result on google about parents protecting their face in the event of toys or their child accidentally

thank you

This has literally never crossed my mind.

It all seems a bit OTT. I don't think I've ever consciously thought about it. If there's flailing near my face then would I try to avoid it just as a subconscious reaction, but I don't always cover my face or worry about being hit with a toy. It literally isn't something I think about.

I taught my children not to play with my face tbh.

This is a very strange thought process.

Never thought about it.

Have you had an injury to your face before that's making you this nervous?

I never even thought about myself.

Erm, no.

I’ll play with my DD or other kids but never need to consciously protect myself. Similar to a pp I’ll just subconsciously move out of harms way or just shut my eyes.

What you’re saying is like walking on a busy pavement and trying to physically protect yourself so no one walks into you. Instead of just moving out of the way when/if it does happen

When they're hands are close to my face then yes I try to protect my eyes and look at them mostly through one slightly open eye

But it seems to me you're anxious beyond the normal in this regards. Have you had a bad experience before? 🤷🏻‍♀️

You need to teach your children to be gentle, not take extraordinary measures. The incident you describe, your other child could as easily have injured the one you had on top of you.

Well this is a new one. I'm just picturing all those people working in nurseries sitting around with their eyes shut as kids whack away at their faces.
The odd accident happens of course, but I don't know a single person who has sustained an injury like what you suggest.

Incredibly precious.

OP this doesn’t sound normal at all. Do you struggle with anxiety?

Wish I’d thought of that, long ago, before my then 9 month old rammed her finger in my eye when I was 2 months pregnant! My eye swelled shut and streamed, to the point I couldn’t see properly to drive. Poor old DH had to drive us the 250 miles home from the PIL’s house while I sat and grizzled in the passenger seat.
Later, when DD was 2, she was crouched on the lawn sniffing a flower. I leaned over her to kiss the top of her head - just as she leapt to her feet, smashing her extremely hard skull into my nose…
DC should come with a hazard warning!

Never crossed my mind. Have you ever heard of anyone being blinded by a toddler?

kids hurt, but unfortunately it's hard to protect yourself from this kind of thing. fortunately 99.9 percnt of the time it's nothing serious

Do you have older children with SN that causes violent outbursts? A person would have to attack you with a sharp object, extreme force and precise aim to cause blindness or even serious injury. I seriously doubt a toddler or young child could do such a thing. In fact I have never in my life met or heard of anyone who has had a child-inflicted eye injury that needs treatment. Your body is not as delicate as you think.

You might, however, look into treating your anxiety. It is not usual to spend time worrying about something that is so vanishingly unlikely to happen.

This has also never crossed my mind.... I genuinely couldn't imagine playing with my kids with my eyes closed.
If you're that worried, what about one of those face shields people used instead of masks?

Yes! Having been a glasses wearer to now no glasses and lash extensions, I am very wary of children not touching my face! It makes me really cross. I mean it depends to what extent you’re protecting your face? Just moving away or holding a hand up? Or like a face shield?

My son is autistic and hits me constantly all day long and I still don't do this! It sounds like an excessive reaction. If you are hit it won't be hard.... You just angle your head away. I don't really see this as an issue.

Jesus Christ what are they playing with? Hammers and machetes 😂

I'm very wary of sitting an older baby in my lap as they have a habit of throwing their head back and smacking me in the mouth

Instinct will make you close your eyes if something comes too close. It’s not an afore thought. Strange to start a thread on this really. If that’s what you do, what are you asking? What is your concern?

I think you need help with anxiety and intrusive thoughts rather than avoiding children accidentally hurting your face.