Yesterday my parents were babysitting my son while my boyfriend and I were out. When we returned my dad had an ominous look on his face.
“I have to tell you something.” He said, the guilt so apparent that it was leaking off of his face.
” What?” I asked, already annoyed.
“Ari fell…off the bed and bumped his head.”
I looked at my son, who was smiling and laughing and running across the floor with a plastic truck. He was obviously fine.
“It’s okay dad. He looks fine.”
My dad was visibly relieved. What I find interesting about this story, is that six months ago I would have freaked out if my son fell down and bumped his head. I realized that my laid back response to my son’s injury means that I have grown as a parent.
I now realize that not anything and everything is an emergency. There will be lots of bumps and scraps along the road and not every one of them requires a a freak out.
Incidentally, head injury in babies can be serious. I don’t mean to minimize it. I remember one time (when my son was around 9 months old) he fell and bumped his head leaving him with the bump the size of a grape on his forehead. I called the doctor to ask what I should do.
She told me to observe him and if he:
–was vomiting
–was lethargic
–seems dizzy or out of it
to take him to the emergency room.
The point is some injuries are benign are some are serious, but as a parent, it’s important to use your intuition to judge whether or not you feel that your child’s condition warrants further attention. And if you have a funny feeling call the doctor. Even if it turns out to be nothing, you’ll have piece of mind.
