Dear Momma,
OK. My son got his first owie at pre-school. They called me and let me know about it...he missed the step on the slide ladder and hit his head and got a big bump that became smaller when they put ice on it...
They put ice on it said we did not need to come.
How painful the wait....
Did i do the right thing not running to pick him up? How do you handle uncertainty in a case like this?
Thank you for the input....
Please no negative remarks. he is my first son and I am an older mom...so this stuff is difficult for me :)
Jilly
A. Thank you all for the support and good advice.
B. He was fine. Yes a big black and blue bump on the forehead, but nothing out of the normal. He was smiling when I came...and told me all about his fall later. I did not make a big deal. Talked to the teacher about other stuff. Sent her a text message thanking her for a good week....
C. Thank you again. You all helped me strengthen my inner thoughts that I was doing the right thing! mamas on mamapedia rock!
Bumps and bruises are going to happen.
You absolutely cannot be there every time -- he has to learn how to deal without you... it may as well be now. He didn't break an arm... he got a bump.
It's fine.
LBC
Yes, you did the right thing. It also helps him to be more independent and not worry so much if you don't come " to the rescue" every time he is hurt. My son fell down a slide, and his front tooth fell out ( thank God it was the loose one) . the nurse called to let me know, and that he was a little scared, but assured me that he was fine. Of course, the mommy in us wanted to go to that school and give them a huge hug and kiss. However, I knew he was fine, and that was all that mattered.
I think you did just fine.
He is going to get lots of bumps when you are not around. They dealt with it, they called you, the system worked.
Yes, you are doing the right thing! The school will err on the conservative side for injuries, so if they said you didn't need to come, you can believe them. Once my son's school asked me to come when someone opened the door over his toe! I went and checked it out and he was happy to stay at school so I let him! It is good for your son to feel safe at school and to know that even if he gets hurt and you're not there, his teachers can take care of him.
You did the right thing. There is always going to be something bumps, bruises, scratches. The only time I was called to pick my daughter up was when a little boy closed her thumb in the door. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't broken and thankfully it wasn't. Glad he's ok.
The way I always looked at this stuff was,, I am just 1 M.. Sure I am important and my opinion counts, but at the school there are several teachers who have dealt with kids for a lot more years than I have, and aids, who see stuff everyday, more than I do, and the school nurse ,who has taken care of lots worse, and probably other staff who see stuff happen everyday. They add up to a lot more experience and wisdom than I probably have so I just figure its about 10 of them, and 1 of me, and if they all said I didnt need to come get him, I guess they might be right. It probably was hard for you to sit at work or home and not run to rescue him, but he was probably fine and they would let you know if he did need you. Id bet that even if the injury hadnt been bad, but he was upset about it, they would have had you come to comfort him too. So the fact that so many of the wise experienced trained staff said you could leave him there, must mean he was handling it great! When he got home I hope you made him feel like a big strong superman for not making a bigger fuss than he needed. Good job mommy!
You absolutely did the right thing. A bump on the head is probably more traumatic for you than your son. By the time you could have driven over to the school, he was probably off playing with something else, not even worrying about his head.
I'm an older mom too, with two girls who started preschool last year... so I feel your worry! I wanted to also mention that you are going to get several calls like this over the next month or two. It does not mean that the preschool teachers aren't supervising, or that your son is having problems, or that the environment isn't safe. It's simply the nature of 15 kids and a lot of toys in a small space - they walk into things, fall over each other, trip on the way to the playground, bump down ladders, etc. So don't worry if you get more calls! As long as your son is going to a licensed school with experienced teachers - they totally know how to handle bumps and bruises (better than we moms do actually, since they see so many more of them!).
If you read this and have time to update - how was your son when he got home? Did he even tell you about the bumped head?
They are going to be on the conservative side most likely, so if they were at all concerned, they would have taken you up on your offer to come pick him up early. You have to use some guidelines to be able to react but not necessarily overreact to situations like this, since it is so easy to worry about everything, esp. with your first. If he had fallen from the ladder - a few feet off the ground onto the ground and hit his head...that would warrant a pick-up in my opinion, so that you could monitor him and not expect them to while they are also watching 10 other kids. But bumps and bruises do happen...it's part of being a kid. You did the right thing. :)
If he is in a good preschool, supervised and well taken care of, then I am sure he was fine if the teacher said you didn't need to come. However, that said, think about how you would feel if you hit your head and got a big black and blue bump. I am not trying to make you feel badly, however, your son might have needed some Tylenol or other OTC medication which the school is probably not allowed to give. I probably would have gone to check out the situation to see if he needed something for pain relief and then if all was okay, keep him there with his friends.
Just because they said that you don't need to come doesn't mean that you can't....knowing myself, I would have gone. That being said, everyone is different and if they truly thought he was okay and you felt comfortable with that, so be it.
My youngest just started preschool. When I went to pick her up the other day her teacher said to me "we had a little accident today" and I thought she meant a potty accident, which was surprising because she has been potty trained for like 2 years now and never has had an accident ..... anyway, the teacher whipped out a paper for me to sign and began telling me that my daughter got whacked in the head when she walked in front of the swings on the playground. She proceeded to tell me that there was a little bit of crying and that they put ice on her head and she seemed fine. I immediately grabbed my daughter to check her out and she did have a large red mark on her cheek but she said she was okay. I signed the form and we left but I was thinking to myself that I wasn't comfortable with the fact that they didn't bother to call me to tell me my child got hurt when it happened. I feel like I should have been the one to judge whether she's okay to stay or not. Alas, I didn't say anything and now it's probably too late. I know my experience doesn't really answer your question, but at least it lets you know that you are not alone!
Are you serious...go and pick him up for a bump on the head??? It's good for children to fall because if they don't then they never know where they are in time and space. Maybe this is why he missed the step...
Let him fall!!!!
