How can I be prepared for falls and accidents of my kids?

Young children spend so much time running, climbing, and jumping that minor injuries are inevitable. Sometimes a child is so absorbed in play that she ignores her scrapes and goes right back to her game, perhaps after yelling, “You bumped me, you stupid chair.” At other times, especially when she’s tired, she may cry for a long time after a fall.

Your child’s reaction to an injury often depends on who’s around her. Since she feels most comfortable expressing her feelings to you, she might cry or complain more about a fall when you’re with her. Many parents have seen their child fall, get up looking unhurt, and then start crying as soon as she sees them. A child cries like this because she wants to be comforted. When you’re not close by, your child may comfort herself or seek help from another child or adult. Adults react the same way to their own injuries: when an adult bumps into something at home, where she’s comfortable, she’ll express her pain, but if she hurts herself away from home, she’s likely to hide her discomfort.

The way a child reacts to a fall also depends on her age. A very young child is much more likely than a four- or five-year-old to cry after a minor injury. One five-year-old told her friend, “Just don’t think about your cut, and it won’t hurt anymore.”

Many children want Band-Aids for every scrape and bruise. Band- Aids seem magical to a young child because she believes that once small cuts are covered up, they’re gone. You can make Band Aids easily accessible. Let your child wear one whenever she thinks she needs it, even if she just wants to cover an old scab she’s rediscovered— the comfort is worth the small expense.