Master 19 months is covered in bruises, bumps and scrapes.
Just yesterday he fell over outside on cement, stood up in the bath and fell over before hubby could catch him and jammed his fingers in a kitchen drawer.
A month ago he had his hands jammed in doors, on two separate occasions on the same day, and was lucky not to lose the top of a finger.
In fact, sometimes I think that he’s pretty lucky to be alive.
There are some things no one tells you when you have children and one of those things is a toddler’s ability to find and court danger with amazing consistency and talent.
My four children have, around the age of Master 19 months: fallen off beds, chairs, high chairs, benches, swings, trampolines, out of cubby house windows, somersaulted off change tables, fallen into the bath and into a pool, bumped heads, broken legs, bruised faces and knees.
Then there are the times they’ve burned their hands on hair straightening irons, clothes irons, light bulbs and cups of tea they’ve pulled on themselves.
They’ve run onto the road and in car parks, undone seatbelts whilst I’ve been driving and tried to drink or eat many dangerous substances.
Despite being scary, this is all normal.
Toddlers are curious and adventurous and they’re seeing everything through fresh and innocent eyes. They have no ideas about action and consequences, checking for danger or assessing for risk.
They know Mummy leaves the scissors up high, but not why, and have worked out how they can climb up to reach them.
Here are a few tips for managing risk:
- Keep all dangerous items out of eyesight and reach and encourage friends and family to do the same.
- Try to see things from their perspective and evaluate the location and arrangement of furniture in your house.
- Never leave children unattended while they are climbing, anywhere.
- Try to encourage your children to play in areas that are safer and within sight.
- If you have to leave them on their own, to use the toilet etc, pop them in a play pen or in an area where they cannot get into any harm.
The truth is, accidents are bound to happen and there’s not much you can do except make the landing a bit softer.
Originally posted 2015-09-23 12:00:31.