Injuries are just flat out no fun, whether it’s for kids or adults. It’s a little more daunting for adults in the aspect that it can cut into your source of income, but with kids, injuries can cut into their education and attendance. The severity of the injury is what will determine whether or not school or work will be missed.
For kids, especially of the younger ages, injuries can be very traumatic for them, and the parents as well. As a parent, you’re a little panicked because you don’t know how damaging their injury is when it happens, and your child panics even more after seeing that you’re in panic mode.
We’ve all seen kids when they fall and bump their head. As soon as it happens, they look at you to see what kind of reaction you have; that will then determine what type of reaction they have. If you immediately run to them trying to comfort them (also called “babying” them), they’re more than likely going to cry. If you just let them get up from their fall, and not show any emotion of being upset, they’ll usually brush it off and get back to playing. Parents usually tend to use that tactic with little boys to try and teach them to be tough and not cry over things all the time.
As much as you try to protect your child from any type of hurt, harm, or danger, it’s inevitable. There are going to be times where you won’t be there and they’re going to hurt themselves… it just comes with the responsibility of parenting. The best thing you can do is be proactive. Knowing what to do next after these injuries is what’s important. Take a look at these common childhood injuries and see what you need to do to take care of them.
Broken Bones
It’s almost guaranteed that whenever you go into an emergency room you’ll see a kid in there with some kind of break. Typically parents of children in ERs will converse with other parents in the waiting room and discuss what happened to their child, and it’s usually some kind of break or fracture.
How kids end up getting broken bones can come from various causes. A lot of times it’s more common if your child is an athlete. Whether it be football, basketball, gymnastics, or cheerleading, a child athlete runs a higher risk of getting injured.
Of course, kids who aren’t athletes get injured too, and those injuries can be the result of various causes as well. A common cause of broken bones among children is from bicycle accidents. You prep them by making sure they wear helmets and other protective gear, but you can’t be there with them all the time, so one way to handle an injury like this is to always be prepared for the unexpected.
If your child does experience a broken bone, seek medical attention immediately.
Cuts and Scrapes/Bumps and Bruises
Every child gets cuts and scrapes, and it’s these cuts and scrapes that have deemed the title of “boo-boos.” After your child comes to you with their boo-boo, it’s now your job to do what? Kiss the boo-boo!
Kids get boo-boos from running around outside, and falling, as well as jumping on the bed and bumping their head. When your child gets a boo-boo of this sort, they come to you wanting you to dry their eyes and give them comfort… only for them to go right back to doing what got them the boo-boo in the first place!
These types of injuries are usually treatable at home. For cuts and scrapes, you’ll want to clean the area with soap and water, apply pressure to stop the bleeding if needed, and then apply an antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
If your child gets a bump or bruise, you’ll want to apply ice to the affected area to reduce swelling and make sure you don’t apply the ice directly to the skin. Wrap it in some kind of cloth. Just keep applying ice to the bump/bruise every 30 minutes or so for the first 24 hours, and your kid will be like new.
Broken Teeth
Breaking or chipping a tooth is oddly pretty common among kids. Whether they fall or take a massive blow to the face, you need to take them to their dentist or an emergency room as soon as possible for medical attention.
Kids who play baseball experience this injury quite often, with a ball straight to the face. Injuries like this are why a lot of athletes wear mouth guards to protect their pearly whites. Typically, busted lips come with broken teeth, so seeking medical attention is a biggie in this situation.
You just never know, stitches might be required as well, depending on how bad the injury is. All in all, injuries happen, but you can get through them a little bit better when you know how to handle them!
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