Reassurance Needed:Son Every Week Coming Home from Nursery School with Face Owie

My son has bit through his bottom lip THREE times! Once in my presence, once in a sitter's presence [she was horrified and so apologetic] and at daycare/pre-K.
My son has hit his head countless times in presence of many and different places.
My son has given himself a few black eye's... Some in front of me, one at grandma's, and once or twice at daycare/pre-K.
Couldn't count how many other boo-boo's. Some with blood, some without. More often than not, he just brushes it off anymore and continues playing.
Happens all the time with mine. : )

No worries mama!

ETA- The school/daycare ALWAYS calls immediately... Well, so did the sitter when he bit his lip around her.

I can't speak to preschool, but I can tell you that both of mine have CONSTANT boo boos. I don't even keep track of them anymore. My kids are 3 and 1, and both very active little monkeys.

Head bumps and bruises are daily thing in our house. Our running joke is that the kids "lead with their domes".

Unless you're trule concerned that something may be wrong at the preschool, I really wouldn't worry about it.

I'm sorry, I know how hard it is.
If it helps any - last month my son's nursery school teacher accidentally scratched my son's face while they were playing and I was really bothered by it. Even though I trust this woman 99.9% and I knew it was a complete accident. Then I started thinking about other random owies my son has gotten over there (at least one a month) and called my mom crying about it. Was he getting hurt too often? Am I a bad mom? Am I not protecting him enough? etc etc.
Well, last weekend we spent the long weekend away from home. We were playing outside and my son got TWO owies within TEN MINUTES on MY WATCH. First he slipped and banged his eyebrow on a metal stair edge. I was sitting right there playing with him when it happened, it was just so fast there was NOTHING I could have done. Then I was jogging around with him sort of playing tag and he fell and skinned both his knees HARD. I was mortified.
The next day we went on a nature walk and he cut the skin in between two of his fingers just by picking up a rock. And got a bunch of bug bites despite the non-deet bug lotion we put on him. I told my husband I was afraid the daycare was going to question our parenting skills when he went back to school looking so banged up!!!!
In a way though, it really put my mind at ease because I realized, this is just what happens when you have an active toddler. Sometimes it just can't be avoided. So it doesn't mean the daycare is being negligent just because he comes home with an owie.
Hope that helps.

yes, it's normal. Some kids are klutzier than others, & for some- it's just a phase.

I agree with getting his eyes checked.

& yes, the toys should be picked up. & yes, there should be NO running inside.

& as a head's up: in my daycare, I have a 4yo who falls at least twice a day over her own feet! Seriously, faceplants time after time. She's not running, she's simply excited & trips over her feet!

In answer to your updated question...I am a FREAK about picking up toys and the no running rule. But for some crazy reason, 1/2 the free world thinks that it's normal and even kids have the right to run and rough house. You are well within your rights to ask about their procedures when it comes to toys and their rules about running inside.

I would say that most of my kids only bump their heads 2-3 times in a month, but usually at least one or two of those come from home. I don't really believe it happens every week. But that's not to say that sometimes it doesn't. Some kids are more clumsy than others and have banged themselves 3 times in one day! But the kids that do that here, also do that at home. The moms and I just laugh about it. We aren't dealing with serious bumps and scrapes.

I have some kids that almost never get hurt. I have a boy at night that is with me every night, m-f, and he has only bumped his head twice in about 6 months. BUT, that's because at night we spend more than half our time sitting around together watching tv and or sleeping. I would sit back and see how often this keeps happening and how serious the bumps or scrapes are, compare how he is at home, and then think about if you think he's getting adequate supervision. Most of our owies come when the kids are rough housing, not paying attention to what they are doing, or push each other. So I can prevent many, but not all of them.

Hmmm...I think some kids take longer to "be aware" of the space around them. My kid was definitely O. of those. But it wasn't a face owie thing--just more like tripping, bumping into, dropping, etc.

Have you had his eyes checked? My son was having the same problems, but as soon as he got glasses, he's improved a lot! He picked out his own frames, and we made a big deal about how much older they make him look. He loves his glasses now.

Sorry you are going through this Jilly! I know how hard this is.

First of all, the play area should not be among furniture. They should play in an open safe area with a play mat far away from chairs and tables. If she does not tell you about it right away.. and you notice this at home, follow your gut instinct. Let the Director know of your concerns after speaking with his caregiver. Look at the area where they play. If you think there are hazards or dangers, speak to the Director to re-arrange the room.

This is not acceptable. Accidents do happen, but if this occurs too often, someone is not looking out for the kids, and I am sure it happens more than you think it does.

I took my son out of a specific daycare because of the same reason, and also that often I would pick him up (in freezing wintertime) and all he was wearing was his t-shirt, and pants. No socks or shoes or warm sweater (which was all provided and was wearing when I dropped him off). In a cold classroom. His hands and feet were ice cold to touch and his cheeks were bright red!!!!!

I sad to hell with this. I filed a complaint and got him out of there as fast as I could

Follow your gut. If it feels "off" it usually is!

Best of luck

As long as you don't have any concerns about how it happens (aka it's just him being clumsy) I would say - yeah it's pretty normal. Especially if he still needs to develop a lot of gross motor skills.
If he seems extraordinarily clumsy I would bring it up with your pediatrician for his next checkup and get his balance, sight and coordination skills checked.
Enrolling him in an extracurricular acitivity like gymnastics may also give his gross motor skills a boost - especially if you don't get to play outside with him that much.
Bumps and bruises are normal at this age. My DD comes home with some every week and and on the weekend she may get them at home or on the playground since she loves climbing, running and jumping....

I think there might be a problem. Your bet bet is to stop by unexpectedly and see how the room is looking. If there are toys scattered everwhere causing tripping hazzards, then you need be sure that is fixed.

Accidents do happen (especially to little boys) but not as often as you're saying.

If all is ok at school, you might want to speak to his pediatrician and ask why he is so excessively accident prone.

Toddlers and pre-schoolers are top heavy, their heads are bigger and heavier than their little bodies can often manage. He would probably trip over his feet at this particular stage. Of course the teachers should be keeping the floor free of trip hazards. That is a given but if they are constantly focused on that what else might be going on they would miss, like someone getting bitten or some other hazard.

I would say try some different shoes on your child. If the sole is one of those that seams to grip everything then they might do better with a leather sole or something that would offer less tripping. I tend to "stick" to anything on the floor when I wear shoes like Crocs. They are made of material that grips whatever it is on, therefore I can trip over the edge of the carpet. If I have on a pair of Clarks or some other shoe that has a leather sole I hardly ever trip or fumble my feet.

You did not say how old he is.. Makes a difference. How is his eye sight? his hearing? Our daughter was and still is like me.. Naturally clumsy. We can trip or fall over, standing still..

I would just mention it to the school that you are noticing a lot of bumps and owies and could they keep an eye on the reasons. Not because you do not trust them, but because you are concerned.

Could be your child is very excited about everything and so is trying to do everything at once. Trying to move faster than he can actually handle?
At home do you allow him to walk over obstacles or are you always moving things out of his way? He needs to understand about stepping over and around things..

Maybe he cannot lift his feet very high, He is tripping in his shoes (some young children do better in their socks, till they can lift their feet higher).

Could be too many . Toys all over the floor, furniture in inconvenient places.

There are tons of reasons.. I should know, our daughter always looked like she was being abused whenever we were about to go or do something important.

Just stay calm and have the school work with you on this.