barb@pyuxa.UUCP (04/04/85)
I had an awful experience the other day getting ready to leave for work that I guess I just wanted to share with other readers of net.kids. My little 21-month daugher fell down our stairs (8 wooden steps, no carpet) whacked her head and body and got a large bump on her forehead. I proceeded to panick thinking that she did not survive this fall. After three calls to my doctor and getting his answering machine I took my now very calm, happy daughter to him. (Since we moved, the pediatrician is a half hour away.) After he examined her, stating she is a-ok, he turned to me and told me that unless I get used to the fact that toddlers will fall and have accidents I will not survive! (Of course I needed an exam by then!) Since she was ok, and again in a happy mood, I took her to her sitter, and went to work. When my husband heard the news, he was angry with me: 1) for letting it happen, 2) for not staying home with her. I of course felt guilty on all counts, so world war 3 started! I would have stayed home except she was ok, I took her for an exam, and I do not have all the much time to take off from work and felt I should save my time for when I really needed it. I'm beginning to ramble now, so I will proceed with my questions. 1) Was I wrong to leave her? 2) I need something to block the stairway, since my little one always wants to follow up the stairs. We had a coffee table blocking the bottom, no good, she pushes it away. We then tied the table to the banister; no good- she unties (or unbuckles when we tried a belt). The gates don't fit-too short. Also the banister is not solid, it has slats, so the wall is the only support a gate would have. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for letting me get some things off my mind. Barb pyuxa!barb
smith@umn-cs.UUCP (04/05/85)
The stairway at our house is blocked by a technique that may work for you: the previous owners attached a small folding window shutter (of the sort used indoors) to the wall of the stairway and placed a hook and eye on the banister to latch it shut. Also, find out how much cheap carpet may be, or expensive carpet even. If your doctor couldn't find evidence of possible neurological damage and didn't recommend close observation or hospitalization I don't see what good staying home would do. I'd surely trust our sitter to watch our kid under similar circumstances. I remember that at a tender age I fell down a flight of thirteen uncarpeted stairs ending on a cement floor. I think I survived. My mother did, too. Rick.
zissos@calgary.UUCP (04/08/85)
> I had an awful experience the other day > getting ready to leave for work > that I guess I just wanted to share with > other readers of net.kids. > My little 21-month daugher fell down our > stairs (8 wooden steps, no carpet) whacked > her head and body > and got a large bump on her forehead. > I proceeded to panick > thinking that she did not survive this fall. > > After three calls to my doctor and getting > his answering machine I took my now very calm, > happy daughter to him. (Since we moved, > the pediatrician is a half hour away.) > After he examined her, stating she is a-ok, > he turned to me and told me that unless I get > used to the fact that toddlers will fall > and have accidents I will not survive! > (Of course I needed an exam by then!) > Since she was ok, and again in a happy mood, > I took her to her sitter, and went to work. > > When my husband heard the news, he was angry > with me: 1) for letting it happen, > 2) for not staying home with her. > I of course felt guilty on all counts, so > world war 3 started! > I would have stayed home except she was ok, > I took her for an exam, and I do not have > all the much time to take off from work > and felt I should save my time for when > I really needed it. > > I'm beginning to ramble now, so I will proceed > with my questions. > 1) Was I wrong to leave her? > > 2) I need something to block the stairway, > since my little one always wants to follow up > the stairs. We had a coffee table blocking the > bottom, no good, she pushes it away. > We then tied the table to the banister; no good- > she unties (or unbuckles when we tried a belt). > The gates don't fit-too short. Also the banister > is not solid, it has slats, so the wall is the > only support a gate would have. > Any suggestions would be appreciated. > Thanks for letting me get some things off my mind. > Barb > pyuxa!barb I recommend that all parents have proper first aid training. This reduces the panic, soothing both parent and child. Also, if a really serious problem does occur you will be able to take immediate action that could well save your child permanent damage. Adrian Zissos University of Calgary Alberta, Canada
garys@bunker.UUCP (Gary M. Samuelson) (04/09/85)
(Daughter falls down stairs, is examined by doctor, who pronounces her fit, and mother goes to work.) > 1) Was I wrong to leave her? If the doctor didn't recommend watching for signs of concussion, I don't see why the rest of the day shouldn't proceed as any other. > 2) I need something to block the stairway, > since my little one always wants to follow up > the stairs. We have a gate that will brace against the wall on one side and the post at the bottom of the rail on the other. (I assume you have a rail, and that it's held up by at least one solid post.) Allow me to tell you of our experiences. Our daughter (Jessica, 28 mos.) learned to climb up the stairs several weeks before she learned to climb down. This resulted in her tumbling down the stairs (12 or 13 steps at our house) at least once, no serious damage. The process was a little nervewracking for her parents, but she did fine. My wife would get down on her hands and knees beside Jessica and show her how to climb down by crawling backwards. It seemed to work pretty well. We started by putting her on the bottom step and letting her figure out how to get down, being ready to catch her. She rolled off a few times, but wasn't be hurt (the landing is carpeted, thought the stairs aren't). After she could get off one step, we put her on the second. Getting from the second step to the first is not as easy, since the target is smaller, but after that it was easy. Jessica liked to follow us upstairs also. Since she could go up with relative ease, we let her follow. If we were going to stay upstairs for a while, it was no problem, since she would stay up there with us. If we were just going up for a moment, say to grab something or put something away, then we could get back to the stairs before she was all the way up, and pick her up on the way down. She doesn't really have any problems going up and down the stairs. She seems to have an instinct for knowing when she can make it, and when she might not (e.g., if she's tired, she won't climb down the stairs, but will call one of us for help). > Barb Gary Samuelson ittvax!bunker!garys > pyuxa!barb *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
barb@pyuxa.UUCP (B E Nemeth) (04/10/85)
I want to thank everyone who responded to my cry of desperation when my little girl fell down our stairs. I received a lot of helpful suggestions and one of them should be the solution to my "stair" problem. It also eased my mind to learn that I was not the only parent to experience such tragedies. As a new parent (or an old parent) you try to do your best and you think you're ahead of it all; then something happens and you think, hey, what am I doing wrong. When your head clears you realize, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm doing the best I can. Well, anyway...... One of the suggestions I received that was in the back of my mind but now I am definitely going through with is to take a first aid course. Part of my problem is not knowing any life saving techniques. Again, thank you all. Barb Nemeth pyuxa!barb 201-981-7067