I really hope you took that kid to the hospital. But I doubt you did.
Earlier this evening, my mother and I went to a restaurant for dinner. While we were waiting to be seated, there was a couple with their baby. The father was cradling the baby (I would judge the kid to be about four months old) in the crook of one arm and slinging it around like it was part of a circus act. The mother (a haggard-looking woman, appearing more like a grandmother than a mother) paid no heed.
They eventually put the baby in a carrier, which they put on the floor. I stopped paying attention at that point. A few minutes later, I heard a dull smack, followed by the most heart-wrenching cries coming from the baby. A woman sitting next to me said the baby rolled out of the carrier and hit its head on the hard tile floor. The parents had both turned their backs and weren’t paying any mind to the kid.
So what did these two do? They picked up the baby, gave it a bottle to make it stop crying, and continued to wait to be seated. :eek:
Is it just me, or should they have taken the kid to get it checked out? I mean, it wasn’t that far of a fall, but the baby hit its head on a hard tile floor. Isn’t that reason enough to put off your meal for a few hours and make sure your baby is okay? I don’t have any kids myself (thank goodness), but I have enough maternal instinct to be far too sick with guilt and worry to even think about eating if something like that happened to my baby.
Hmmmm. I’m a parent (3 yo and 6 mo), and I can’t say that that sort of fall would have me rushing to the ER. In fact, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t. If I understand you, the baby was in his carrier sitting on the floor and he rolled out of it? Onto the floor? He probably scared himself more than anything. It was pretty irresponsible for them to leave him in there unstrapped if they knew he was rolling or in the escape-mode portion of infancy, but stuff like that happens all the time with kids, especially when they’re first starting to roll around. You don’t realize they’ve figured how to do something and next thing you know, they’re all over the place. My six month old could only roll back to front two days ago. Today, I put him on the floor, turned my back for 30 seconds, and he had moved three feet (just scooted himself closer to his toy).
I wouldn’t take a kid in for a bump to the head unless there were signs of concussion or serious blood. Well, I might if he fell from a high place, like off a changing table or from a bed to tile. Of course, I didn’t witness what happened, so I’m just going by what I imagined happened.
Father of two adults here.
If every parent of every child that fell down took them to the ER, medical serivces in the US would come to a complete halt. The ERs would be overflowing with babies and kids.
Can a child be injured in a fall? Sure?
Are they injured in every fall? No thank OG. Not even 1 in 100.
They aren’t as breakable as they look.
Father of toddler here - the fact that the baby started crying is a pretty good indicator that he or she was fine. Still should have been strapped in, though.
As Alessan said, if the baby is crying, they’re fine. It’s when they go quiet and unresponsive that you need to get to an ER promptly.
Meh. I’ve had babies and little kids fall out of prams, bunkbeds, down stairs and all sorts of other scenarios with no longer-term consequences than a sore head and an egg to proudly show off at creche/kinder or school the next day. Babies and kids have tough little noggins. And parents quickly learn the difference between an ouchy bump and something that might need medical attention.
Oh, and Pixienix, your description of the mother was needlessly condescending and inflammatory and bore no real relationship to context of the OP. I suggest you have some kids and come back with pie.
I disagree. My description was accurate and helped paint the picture of both the parents and the situation. On the contrary, your tone is needlessly condescending and inflammatory, as if I am somehow less of a person just because I don’t have children. I suggest you get over it.
But you see, it DIDN’T help paint a picture by you saying:
It seemed to me that you were trying (in vain) to make out that the parent/s were somehow negligent by not only their actions but that their appearance fitted some sort of stereotype (in your mind) as well. What the hell does it matter what the mother looked like???
This is especially so since you have been informed by a number of parents here that they wouldn’t have fussed too much about the incident either. I haven’t seen photies of the other posters, but I’m sure they’re not all haggard-looking…unlike me of course. I’m a righteous old witch!! Big warty nose and all!!
kambuckta, if you have so much of a problem with me, take it to the Pit. But I’m not going to waste my time justifying myself to someone who gets so nasty so fast.
And over what? A “haggard” comment? Seems hardly worth it. If you’re spoiling for a fight, I ain’t playing.
For those who came with polite, reasoned responses, thank you. I see now that it’s no big deal.
Darls, I ain’t looking for a fight and I really don’t have much of a problem, but YOU were the one who mentioned the appearance of the mother in the first place, then tried to justify it as adding somehow to the seriousness of the scenario you witnessed. Are you backing down from that now?
And hey, I was polite, at least in the first part of my post!!
Nope. I wrote what I wrote and I stand by it. I wasn’t calling her a witch. I wasn’t calling you a witch. I don’t even know where you got that.
But we can disagree 'til the cows come home in a polite manner. Your response came off as rude and condescending, and I took offense to that, especially since this is MPSIMS, not the Pit. In the Pit, I’d expect that sort of thing.
Father of three. Alessan’s and kambuckta’s opinion thirded – Not saying the parents were OK (from your description they were not), but still this particular case sounds almost like what I would call a “routine” accident, and certainly not like something that requires rushing to ER.
Fourthed. No bioligical kids of my own, but I raised my stepson from age two. The first time I was left alone with him, I was scared I’d break him just by touching him. After a short time, I learned kids are made of rubber. I also learned that I could be in the next room and hear a thud, a pause, then tears, and would break the speed of light to get to him and other times I could hear a thud, then the pause and tears, and could just call out “You’re okay mate. You’ll live”, and continue with what I was doing. Don’t ask me how I could tell the difference, but you learn to just know when they’ve really hurt themselves and when they haven’t.
The “circus act” phrase makes this sound like it’s some sort of evidence of the parents being irresponsible. Can’t judge without having been there, but what you’re describing could just have been the father soothing the baby.
If the baby was tucked in the crook of an arm, I seriously doubt that the father was being reckless – as weird as it may have looked. Babies like to be swung and rocked, often more actively than you’d think.
My godson, who had recently learned to walk and was still very much in the uncoordinated stage, was over at our very-not-childproof-house with his mom, when he toddled over to our glass coffee table. He misstepped, went forward- BANG- into the coffee table, then backward- BANG- onto the hardwood floor. Sat up, obviously quite confused, with a huge red mark on the front and back of his head, then get up and toddled off. His mom’s a nurse and wasn’t hugely concerned (even after the inevitable goose-eggs showed up in the next couple hours). I don’t think your scenario is much to worry about.
Really, the parents are probably just going “I knew s/he was going to fall and I’m glad it’s your fault this time!”
I warned each of my co-workers that the baby will fall, be dropped, forgotten, something. And after the first few times, you start to be able to determine if you need to do something or if it’s better to just say “you’re okay” and move on.
The first time my co-workers’* daughter rolled off the bed, Mom reported it to me. The way it was reported? “Adele rolled off the bed, but Greg was watching her so it wasn’t my fault.” They were just relieved to survive that first fall. The kid? She probably barely noticed but the parents? Boy howdy, did they freak out.
Off-topic:
Visiting mom yesterday, she pulled out some old stories of what a klutz I was. First major owie? Running through the house at 9 months, fell down and put my bottom teeth through my bottom lip. Blood everywhere and Mom thought I was going to die or at the very least lose my lower lip. Run to the hospital and they told her to just ice it–no stitches. Got home yesterday and looked under my lower lip and I’ll be damned if there isn’t a scar there. Of course, she doesn’t remember how I got the big scar in my eyebrow, which is what I’m curious about. She did say that from the time I learned to walk until I was about 12 years old I had a constant goose egg on my forehead from walking into doorways. I still do that. :smack:
Dittoing this. And no I don’t think it’s a big deal that the baby rolled out. They are not terribly breakable at that age - not for such a tiny fall anyway.
Re the ‘haggard’ thing: As you say, you are not a parent. But trust me - if you ever have kids you too will look ‘haggard’. This will be no reflection of your parenting skills but merely because you are tired. Babies aren’t generally sleeping through the night at 4 months!
