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

No this isn't a normal way to think.

DP once got kicked in the eyeball accidentally, but hard, by DD’s foot when she was about 2, and had to have an urgent examination at the eye hospital to check there was no damage. It was very painful, however.

So I get where you’re coming from, OP. I used to hate my face being poked at by DD when she was little, so we really strongly taught her not to push her face, other things, or her hands into anyone’s faces (they tend to do that up until about 4, unfortunately, but you can train them to stop).

I think you might be struggling with intrusive thoughts. I have had similar thoughts like this since having my baby (and developing ptsd and anxiety). I went through a few months of worrying constantly about stepping off a kerb as I could 'see' myself going over on my ankle and breaking a bone. I also had lots of thoughts about situations that might harm my baby, or me e.g. worrying about having a heart attack when we were alone in the house. I considered installing cctv cameras in our house so someone would know.

I needed a lot of therapy. If this sounds like you then your GP or HV is a good place to start.

I think your anxiety seems excessive, have you spoken to anyone about this?

Teach them gentle hands and not to throw toys?

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.

See my post above — DP was lucky that there was no serious damage, but there could well have been.

My kids are quite rough so yes, I do this

(Oh and the eye hospital said it was quite common to get kicked in the eyeball by a toddler)

No, i wear glasses though which affords a bit of protection.

I think it depends on the child. My eldest was fine but my youngest has given me a couple of black eyes, numerous scratches and bashes with her head. So now yes I’m a bit protective. Telling her no firmly or sitting in the corner for time out has no effect. I suspect the older methods would work but can’t use those these days.

I instinctively protect my face as you describe. It's saved me getting hurt numerous times.

Don't let them play near your face if you don't like it/they can't be gentle.

If there's some specific reason there's a problem, you could get some safety glasses I suppose - I have some which I always wear when gardening after once having to go to the minor injuries unit at the hospital after getting poked in the eye by a tough grass stalk. Somewhere like b&q should have some.

Oh dear, loads of posters on here never been to minor injuries unit with corneal abrasion due to eye injury from children.

Thank your lucky stars!

I have had to visit twice, bad enough to need antibiotics.

I never really thought of this, but I suppose I have flinched sometimes or moved out of the way. I have had a finger poke me in the eye a few times, but nothing that stands out.
Maybe you could wear one of those transparent covid visors for a while, if it will give you peace of mind and help you relax?

This thread is so bizarre 😂

I understand . As a kid I damaged a tooth by being hit in the face by a football at school . I was always super cautious when the kids were very young , even as babies when they were moving their heads against my shoulder .

I’m wary of my face around young children because in my experience they’re very keen to whack their heads around and hit you hard in the nose with the hardest part of their skull. They also poke your eyes and scratch cheeks with sharp little fingernails so I don’t think it’s excessive at all. I wouldn’t have my eyes closed but I do move my head back when they’re flailing. It’s not violence on their part, just complete unawareness of where their hands/heads are and the damage they can do.

Yes I have had someone's child knock my contact lens out my eye and my son has managed to snap my glasses. It's made me the same unfortunately.

Don't let them get higher than you as this is when they will hurt your face.

Keep a balaclava, goggles and a helmet beside the bed and put them on every day before you come downstairs.

Problem solved.

My toddler has managed to split my lip and black my eye, and he's only 2.5! He's a lovely, friendly boy but very boisterous and doesn't know his own strength. OP I always protect my face now!

I thought worried about everything, but no have never worried about this!

I am also wondering if you've had some bad experiences previously, OP. It sounds like you have some anxiety that would be worth speaking to someone about. This thread has probably already shown you that this isn't one of the main things mums usually worry about. Is it spoiling your time with DC a little? Do you think it would help to tell us more?

I dont think I've ever heard of anyone being blinded by a child while playing. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

I can only assume that at some point in your life something happened that has caused you to have these intrusive thoughts. It's never occurred to me to protect my face, either as a parent or as a teacher of severing learning disabled and autistic children.
I was once whacked in the forehead with a big wooden toy, at work. But even though our children were unpredictable and sometimes violent, I never went to any conscious effort to protect my face. Most of our protective actions happen subconsciously and instinctively. There's no need to actively and consciously do something like closing your eyes.

If it's your eyes you're worried about, I can only suggest getting glasses with plain glass lenses, which will provide a fair bit of protection. But I'd also talk to someone to try to banish these intrusive thoughts..