Wednesday, April 12, 2017

When Your Kid Is Accident Prone

"Um, Natalie was riding really fast and flung off her bike."



My daughter's friend told me this. Maybe other parents would panic, but I know Natalie. She's always getting hurt to the point where she rarely cries unless it's really bad.

"Is she bleeding?" I asked, putting on my shoes.

Her friend shook her head. "Nope. But she says her arm hurts."

I headed down the street to Natalie, who was walking towards the house. She had her bike and was sniffling.

"My arm hurts," she told me.

I asked if she could bend it. Wiggle her fingers. She could.

"Oh good. Not broken," I said. I broke my arm as a kid. I jumped off a swing. It was a contest. I had to prove I could jump from the highest point. The good news is that I won. The bad news is that I landed on my arm and broke it. I was in a cast for a few weeks. But I wouldn't say I was accident prone. That was the only time I was majorly hurt.

"What were you doing?" I asked, taking the bike.

"Racing with my friends. My bike hit a curb and I just went flying." Natalie sighed.

I shouldn't have been surprised. My daughter has always been a bit of a daredevil. I should have known from an early age that she'd keep me on my toes.

For example, when she was a little over a year old, she started climbing out of her crib. I lowered it. She figured out how to climb out of it. I found it strange that a kid not yet two was already in a toddler bed.

I'd have gates around the house and she figured out how to climb them, and climb the kitchen counters.




When she was nearly three, she got a cyst on her leg that became infected. It was MRSA, so we had to stay in the hospital while she got antibiotics through an IV:




She got countless other bumps and bruises. When she was 5, she was running around before Pre-K and fell flat on her face. She got a nasty bruise on her forehead. I was worried about a concussion, but we lucked out:



We had to go to the ER when she got a terrible cut on her side. I don't even know what she was doing. One minute she was running around, the next she showed me she was bleeding down her side. She had to get that special glue to close it.


Then she managed to get a hole in her head. She was running around and smacked it against the corner of the staircase. It was frightening. I thought she was going to pass out on me. She had to get staples to close it.



Many times her friends have come to the door saying she's been hurt. She was once riding her scooter, lost her balance, and went straight to the ground. I found her mouth completely bloody. It was like the end of the movie Rocky.

So when I saw Natalie after she had fallen off her bike, I was grateful that I didn't see any blood. I thought she was fine.

She wasn't.

The next day her arm was swollen.

"Guess where we need to go?" I said to her.

"The ER," Natalie sighed, because she remembers being there.

On the way there, I asked Natalie to please be more careful in the future.

"But I was racing," Natalie explained.

"Yes but...how do I know when you move out that you won't be like, 'Oh, I think I'll jump off the bridge?'"

It was quiet.

"Natalie," I yelped. "You're supposed to say: 'I won't ever do that!'"

Natalie shrugged. "You never know."

At the ER we found out that she broke her wrist, so oops, my comment on it not being broken was incorrect:





She was given a brace and I was told to make an appointment with ortho. (She insisted on a photo with the bluebonnets. Like "lalala, got a broken wrist, no big deal." She loves nature.)



"Please be more careful," I begged as we headed home. "I know I can't bubble wrap you, but believe me, I wish I could."

When you have an accident prone child, you have to deal with more blood than you ever thought you'd ever encounter. You deal with tons of splinters. Bruises. Scrapes.

You also become really grateful for insurance.

Natalie is now in a cast (pink, naturally) for three weeks, and then she'll return to the brace for another two.





She's still playing outside, because I can't keep her inside forever. Trust me, I wish I could. I've just asked that she take it easy. If a race comes up, decline. If a tree climbing contest is brought up, DECLINE. (She's done that and fallen off a tree before.)

I'd like to say that this will be her last injury. I hope it will be. But I know my kid. I know she doesn't like to sit still. She won't turn down a challenge.




She keeps life interesting, that's for sure.


Do you have an accident prone kid? Or were you one?








35 comments:

  1. Oh, the poor thing. My brother was very accident prone when he was a kid, but he outgrew it.

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  2. My kids aren't accident prone (yet) but they have been sick for the past 2 weeks! Jsut passing whatever germs back and forth to each other. I can't catch a break! Even with antibiotics for the bronchitis, they are still passing a viral infection. Good luck momma! Solidarity!

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  3. That girl is going to rule the world! My teenager once fell while running, I was the one crying! xD I even took him to the emergency room. Yup, I was that kind of mom!

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  4. Omg! Poor thing. My husband is accident prone. Since he's the breadwinner, this is a problem...lol lol

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  5. I can relate to this. My 18 month old is accident prone too

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  6. Poor Natalie - wishing her a speedy recovery! I wasn't an accident-prone kid and neither are either of my older two boys. They are too cautious, like their mom :) But the picture of Natalie on the counter - that is my three year old. He'll climb anything to get something he wants. So far (knock on wood) we haven't had any big accidents, but its still early :)

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  7. Aw poor N! Hope she feels better soon, oh and not to scratch it with a pencil or a ruler. I was a cautious kid. My brother was just like her and got hurt a lot,

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  8. I was totally a daredevil. Ahahaha the scrapes I would get into! Kids are fearless, love her spirit! ;)

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  9. Oh I hope she recovers quickly... Children are fearless and so brave all at the same time!

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  10. Oh man!!! I have never broken a bone *knock on wood* but I have heard myself on numerous occasions because I am just clumsy.

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  11. Poor Natalie! Sounds like she's been through a lot. Zachary had MRSA and Simon possibly had it too on a bug bite (they never confirmed what it was infected with but definitely was infected), but that's about it!

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  12. Boy do I know the feeling! I've had more ER visits with my three than I can count. They get it honestly though! lol Hope she feels better soon!

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  13. I remember being a daredevil as a kid but now would you believe I am scared of heights like totally freeze and I don't remember any significant childhood trauma that could have made me become so frightened. I am sure she will cool off as she gets older

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  14. When I was a little girl I was like your daughter... I was a little hurricane and I got hurt many times... I can perfectly understand your worries... Natalie will be better soon!

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  15. My son's not even two yet, but I see this in my future. He's so crazy, and I'm pretty sure he'll go along with your daughter jumping off that bridge. I'm glad she's okay, and good luck next time!

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  16. Oh no, I hope it gets better! Thankfully we have yet to go to the ER with the little one but I'd be a wreck too if we had!

    Mae | www.thegospelofbeauty.org

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  17. Oucchhhh! I will say she is very brave, I would've been crying like a baby! So happy she is okay!

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  18. Oh, thank goodness my girls are such indoorsy kids! They don't mind being outside, but they aren't fans of dirt and aren't very big risk takers either. I imagine Natalie being so accident-prone really does keep life busy for you guys!

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  19. Awe. I am pretty accident prone myself, so I can relate. So is my mom. We took turns bandaging each other up when I was younger.

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  20. Poor kid! And scary about MRSA when she was three!
    I'm not accident prone and my kids aren't, but man, I know so many kids who are. Those parents are always on the edge of their seats!

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  21. Ouch! But I'd say Natalie is brave girl. I'm accident-prone myself and it always drove my Mom crazy so I know what you're going through. You're pretty cool though to still be there & all. The reminders won't end, but don't worry coz I think Natalie won't forget them. There's just this certain joy that one gets with racing bikes with friends or climbing trees & all that.

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  22. I totally feel your pain. My second daughter was totally accident prone. Luckily, my husband didn't mind the trips to the emergency room because I couldn't handle blood and guts.

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  23. Yikes. It's always scary when our kids need to go to the emergency room. With my youngest son, many of the ER staff recognize us on sight (I'm still undecided as to whether that is a good or bad thing.). I hope Natalie heals quickly and y'all have a bit of time without accidents.

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  24. I am still accident prone now but somehow never managed to break any joints yet suprisingly. Hope she is ok, it must be scary sometimes because you never know what they are going to do next x

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  25. My kids aren't accident prone. It's really a scary one if you see your kids getting hurt.I must say Natalie is a brave girl (Y)

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  26. She is so adventurous! I wish I was like that when I was a child minus the accident prone thing.

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  27. I was a accident prone child. Very clumsy too. My husband was wild and accident prone as well. I'm afraid for our daily but she isn't walking yet so I have some time to prepare haha!

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  28. I had an injury or two growing up. And eventually I did break my wrist. That was an experience. Sometimes things just happen and you aren't being dangerous or daring.

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  29. Oh goodness! I might have a heart attack if I am the Mom. Natalie is so adventurous and you are so strong to handle it.

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  30. My youngest is very accident prone. If there is any possible way for her to get hurt, she will.

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  31. Sorry to hear about Natalie's wrist. Hope that she recovers soon. She is very brave gal!

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  32. I remember being accident prone, actually, I think I still am. I got used to seeing my own blood and part of my body wrapped up or stitched, lol. It's not fun when that happens but I had a pretty good run as a kid.

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  33. She reminds me of how I was when I was a kid. I would always get myself into trouble! I can't remember how many times we had to go to the hospital to fix something, lol.

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  34. haha, aren't all of them accident prone? I'm actually more worried about their accident proned daddy lol.

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