Mother's Guilt

Well, to put things in perspective, your daughter is the one who got hurt and my guess is she isn't bothered by it at all at this point.

Maybe you could switch to having the 2.5-year-old pull her around on a small blanket instead of in the wagon so there isn't the tip hazard?

All I can say is wait until she gets hurt under his watch!!! That is the big issue with first time parents with stay-at-home moms. Kids are GOING TO get hurt, and since we're home with them all the time, the chance of it happenening with us is so much greater. My fiance used to get so upset if he came home and our baby had a scratch or bruise. It used to drive me crazy!!!! I consider myself a laid-back mom as well, but that doesn't mean we are lax in our care! Kids are walking time-bombs for injuries. The first time our girlie fell while I was away, she skinned her knee up pretty bad. My fiance was all over me when I got home, trying to explain himself, exactly how it happened, what he did, how she was after.... (of course she is fake-crying now, showing me her boo-boo, making him feel worse) I just shrugged, and kissed him, thanking him for being a good daddy and taking care of it. It took him to see that even under the most watchful care, accidents happen. Now he is MUCH better with seeing the war wounds of toddlerhood

At the risk of sounding like a neglectful mom, I think you are in the right here. I think many parents are too protective of their kids, and as a result we have a generation of children who can't understand loss, pain, going without, and consequences in general.

You weighed the risks against the benefits - you knew she most likely wouldn't be seriously hurt (and a scrape really isn't a serious injury, as bad as it looks) and in exchange for a little risk she and the 2.5 year old had a BLAST!

As she grows you won't be able to foresee EVERY possible outcome. You will continue to weigh risks and benefits, and make your decisions based on that. There is ALWAYS a risk, you can't keep her in a bubble forever. She will learn that it's ok to try new things, balance, coordination, strengths and limitations.

On a side note...isn't it always the way? I know of a little man who was about the same age. His father placed him on his feet in the driveway, turned to grab something right behind him, and the little guy fell and scraped his nose and forehead. There's just no stopping these things sometimes!

I think most of us have moments like that. When my daughter was about 6 months old, she fell off the kitchen counter and onto a hard, tile floor. We didn't have insurance at the time, so we chose not to take her to the ER and just watched her carefully over the night. I still feel guilty that we didn't get her looked at, especially after what happened to Natasha Richardson last month. If that had happened 2.5 years earlier, I would have gladly paid the several hundred dollars for all the testing they would have done to make sure she was OK. And she is OK. And your daughter will be fine too. Scrapes look awful, but they will heal and she will forget it ever happened. Guilt is part of being a mom. Did you tell your husband how awful you feel all by yourself and that you don't need his help? :) Did you see Oprah (Tuesday's show, I think) about motherhood? It was pretty good. It might make you feel better.

Try not to beat yourself up accidents happen. If not this something else. You'll never be able to prevent them all. These things happen when adults are pulling their kids around and playing.

My husband was fooling around with my son about that age. He caught him around the waist causing him to flip over. He did a face plant in the grass, had dirt up his nose & in his mouth. He felt awful but the worst part was a guy at the ball field said, "way to clothes line your son," humiliating him. Needless to say it added to his guilt ten fold.
No one likes to see their kids hurt no matter the circumstance.