Head Injury - Austin,MN

Give her homeopathic arnica. It makes the bruising either totally go away or very minimal. If she doesn't have broken skin, us the cream type. If she does, then only use the internal kind. Accidents happen. Kids fall. It's how they learn to be careful around the muddy patch (or sand, or water, etc.). It's so hard though, isn't it?

I just had the same thing happen. Husband watching my youngest (8). I am in a work meeting when I get a text to call him immediately because he is at urgent care. My son was on his scooter with his helmet but without his other gear, which I always demand that he wear. My husband went to make a sandwich and my son decided to scooter down the hill in the middle of the road, no adults present and near an intersection. He slipped, flew off and skidded. Now he has stitches and a bad road rash on his arm. He is very lucky he did not break his arm and elbow. I am very grateful there was no car involved. My husband feels horrible and we have agreed that I get to be as mad as I need to for as long as I need to. You mamas understand how it is. I swear when my kids get hurt like this I can actually feel it.

I am glad your daughter is okay. Sounds like it must have been really scary for her and for you guys.

Owww! Poor kid. There was probably nothing you could do about your toddler's fall, but was your daughter wearing a bicycle helmet? A helmet that fits well and is fastened correctly should prevent forhead bumps. My grandson isn't allowed to ride without his helmet.

Bike helmet???

Did they check her for a concusion? Are you supposed to wake her every couple of hours? Any vomiting or nausa?

My son got a concusion while walking backward and tripping over his own feet. He apparently landed on his head but in the soft cushy stuff around the swings at the park.

It ended up being the funniest ER trip we have ever been on. His older sister was sick and he hit his head at the same time. So I end up calling the doctor's after hours number, the on call doctor calls back and I explain that I have 2 sick kids with totally different things going on. He said he'd meet us at the ER. I also called my older son to come along so each child could have an adult with them at all times.

I would say for your daughter put ice on her face it will feel so much better. But also watch for vomiting or nausa. If either happen call her doctor because then it's a concusion. She could also start to feel like she has a serious whiplash tomorrow. Again ice is best.

Was she wearing a properly fitting helmet?

My oldest ran into a metal pole at school the day before school pictures you should have seen the bump on his head!

That kind of happened to my son last year. He went head first over his handle bars while going down a hill. When he went back to school a few days later another kid told me my son was the most popular kid in school because his face was so messed up everyone wanted to know what happened. He was wearing a helmet. We have a serious head injury in our family and I am big on safety gear so my kids know helmets are not an option.
You deal with it by letting her get back on her bike when she is ready. For my son that was the next morning. My stomach is constantly twisted when I think of his accident but I can't put him in a bubble.

Oh the pics I could show you of my son! He has ran into walls 3 times and got the BIGGEST bumps! And then there was the time he rolled backwards and hit the table and got another. Oh and not to mention the time he opened a sliding glass door over his foot....kids get hurt its part of life. Pick them up, patch em and give them hugs. You don't want your kids to be afraid of something that WILL happen. Hugs to you though!

Sounds like your husband got lucky and hopefully learned a lesson about the helmet. She needs to keep biking because it's an important part of childhood and good exercise and transportation and everyone in the family needs to agree on helmet useage. My kids know they will lose their bike privileges without their helmets and it is a firm, non-negotiable rule. My youngest flew over the top of his handlebars at about age 10 and landed on his head. It cracked his helmet, but he was fine, just a headache. I took the cracked helmet to Cub Scout meetings to teach other kids about helmet useage. I think it left an impression.

I also use opportunities I see in the neighborhood to teach my kids about bike safety. When I see other kids crossing roads without looking first or riding without helmets I make a point to show or tell my kids and explain why they need to be different or they will lose their bike privileges. Many schools have bike rodeos or safety days. What about finding and enrolling her in a bike safety class? Maybe your local community ed or parks and rec program has one. We covered it in Cub Scouts. Good luck and I hope she feels better soon.

That's how I feel about bikes. Did she have a helmet on? I hate bikes.

You're right. You can't put her in a bubble! I know it looks bad now, but it sounds like she'll heal. It's amazing how flexible and durable kids' bodies are. God knows that kids are supposed to get hurt!

Remember the phrase, "Fall off the horse, and you better get right back on again?"

That means you MUST encourage your daughter to get back on that bike as soon as possible. The longer she avoids it, the tougher it will be to overcome any fear of riding. The adults around her also need not to make such a big deal about her riding the bike. She'll get anxious and use your fear as an excuse not to try again. Riding bikes is such a crucial part of childhood (teaches independence, adventure, motor skills, etc.)--wouldn't you hate to have her miss out on it?

She's definitely learned her lesson (about avoiding mud patches in the future). So has your husband (about helmets). You can remind her that if those who never make mistakes never learn anything new.

That goes for us grownups, too.

No helmet, no bike ride...end of story. This is a lesson learned and you are VERY lucky she doesn't have permanent brain damage because it could have happened. Good luck.

You deal with it just as you do everything else in your life, learning from it. I bet now she will not have to be told to wear a helmet, especially if the doctor or you let her know she wouldn't have been hurt as bad had she had her helmet on. It was a good lesson for your hubby too, on why you insist on her wearing her helmet. Kids have accidents a lot because their brains think they are bigger then their bodies really are. My youngest son ended up in the ER for stitches with each new bike he got... a long with the skateboarding. Finally a doctor asked him what he was trying to prove (after being told he rode his bike into a brick wall) and my 8 year old son said "I was trying to see the endurence of the bike" The doctor said "Better worry more about your own endurence" It was to the point that when we took him to the ER for an asthma attack, the doctor hearing who was in the ER said "Oh man.. what did he do now??" With my oldest, he broke a collarbone in football, had a ride in the ambulance in wrestling and a broken nose from horsing around when he was a kindergartener. He was going in for accidents enough that the insurance company called me and asked when he was going to turn 18..lol. My daughter wasn't so hard but she broke her arm at a skating birthday party when she was 11 and again when she was a senior in high school in her PE class. At 16 she had an accident with her car and we were worried about a spot in her back they had to do a CAT scan on. Then 4 years ago she fell on ice and broke her ankle and had to have 12 screws and two plates in it. She was 24 at that time. The hardest was when I lost my youngest son, the one who crashed his bikes all the time, to a vehicle accident within a month of his buying a new truck. He probably would have survived had he worn his seatbelt. It was a lesson for everyone who knew him to click it. The thing is, accidents are preventable for most part but they happen, you can't keep them in the bubble, you just have to roll with the punches in life and learn from them. You can't hold her back from riding her bike again, just make sure she is as safe as can be while riding it.