26Month Old Fell off of My Bed...

I have 3 boys, and the 15 month old fell off my bed about 2 months ago. If he is doing fine now, then you can rest easy. It's probably just the first of many!

Oh good lord, I've lost track of how many times my 2yo (just turning 24mos) has fallen off my bed, or down our stairs, or off of furniture...etc... He's quick and very adventurous.

If he seems fine - no altered behavior, responsive, talking to you, not suddenly sleepy or more so than normal, I wouldn't worry about it. Kids are pretty resilient and "bounce" pretty easily. He was probably more scared than hurt.

Holy Cow!
You made it this long without your kid falling off of something?
I don't mean to make light. I'm sure it scared the heck out of you. Plus, then you feel bad.
For my son's very first little daycare school pictures, he had a huge bruised and scraped garf right on his forehead. He managed to do that on flat pavement.
I know it's really hard to do, but I figured out that with my kids, if I stayed calm, they stayed calm. Sometimes they'd get up and kind of look at me like, "Should I cry about this or not?"
It's my guess your little guy was more frightened than hurt, especially if he's not a professional biffer.
Follow urgent care's instructions.
If he's not vomitting, acting delirious or dizzy, he's probably okay.
Kids are pretty tough. God made them that way or 90% of them wouldn't survive being 2 year olds.
Just keep an eye on him and call urgent care or take him in if he has a drastic change in behavior.

Best wishes!

Yikes! I know how scary that can be! When something similar happened to my little boy, the Dr. said to look out for if he is suddenly sleepy, disoriented, walks likes he’s dizzy or is speech sounds different or if anything about him seemed off after. My son fell on his face but hit his forehead pretty bad. Didn't know if your son did too.

If he seems happy go lucky like nothing happened, then likely he’s fine!

My son pulled a chair over to the counter to watch me make bread one time when he was only 1 1/2 years old. I kept telling him to sit but when he stood to get down he fell of and slammed his forehead against our tile floor and did a somersault backward and actually bent his neck backward before landing on his back. He cried for a while as I held him and panicked. I called his pediatrician and she said to watch to make sure he was acting fine. If he started acting strange in any way then I would need to have him checked out. Other than the really nasty bruise on his head he was fine and I didn't have to get him checked out. He is a healthy 2+ year old and has no fear of getting hurt. Yeeks! You might have him checked out by a chiropractor.

Hi K.. You have gotten great advice, so I won't repeat. Only I want to add, please don't let this incident keep you from letting him sit on the bed with you, to comb his hair or whatever. I know how hard it is the first few days after a fall. We are nervous. Please try to push past it for your child, and let him see that sitting on a bed with momma is fun.

Blessings.
Jilly

My 2-yr-old son had a skull fracture from a fall. The thing I learned that I didn't know before is that it can take a couple of days for the problem to manifest. In other words, my son seemed fine after the fall (no passing out, dilated eyes, other bad symptoms). It took two days for the brain to swell and cause enough pressure that it began to hurt him and caused a lot of crying and even a personality change (clingy). Your son is probably fine, but I wanted to pass this along so you could make a connection over the next few days, if necessary.

Yup--my son will be 3 in a month. He has fallen off my bed a few times. Unfortunately. He can climb up on it, so he gets up there more than he should. If he seems happy and doesn't seem confused or complain of anything hurting then I think you have nothing to worry about. I'm always more worried if he hits the back of his head. Face first I don't think there is much internally to worry about. I'd be more worried about a busted nose or lip but if you don't see anything wrong with him then I am sure he's just fine! If it makes you feel better, take him to his pediatrician, but I"m sure he's just fine. It is scary!! My son has scared me more times than I can count. BOYS!!! Ugh!

What did urgent care tell you to look for?
Keep a close eye on him.
Thank God that kids mostly bounce.

Don't worry! My kids have rolled, crawled and jumped off my bed. (mostly my 3 year old, but the baby's fallen off a few times too). It happens. Don't beat yourself up over it. There's going to be a LOT more bumps on the head before too long! When it happens again a few things to look for are a bump that goes in instead of popping out, mismatched pupils or really dilated pupils, vomiting or seems more tired than normal. If you experience any of those symptoms, go to the ER. But, kids are really resiliant. It's amazing what they can take and just keep on going like nothing ever happened.

Our daughter was 2 and jumping on my MIL's bed one time and I kept trying to get her off of the bed, but she would not listen. I could not catch her either. She slipped and hit her forehead right on the sharp edge of the headboard and the biggest egg shaped hematoma grew in that spot.. Of course we were all crying even though I wanted to strangle her. We put ice on it and just monitored her.. She has a big hard head, and that is what I think saved her.. She still has a crease there it you rub it!

I felt bad, but I had really tied to stop her.. She never jumped on a bed again.. Kids get hurt all of the time, even with our best efforts, we cannot always protect them. Just breath,, He will be fine.

Being a mother of 3 boys and a R.N. I have seen plenty of falls. My 28 year old was 2 1/2 when his father and I divorced. My sister who was 15 at the time was babysitting. Wanna talk about being scared? He was jumping on the bed (he had been told 1000's of times not to do it). He hit the headboard and bit his bottom lip off. Well, not completely off, it was hanging on 1 corner by the skin. She got a neighbor (now my sister in law) and they rushed to the Urgent Care. When I got there, his white tee shirt was red from the blood. I had to take him to the hospital E.R. because the Dr. thought he might have needed Plastic Surgery. Thank God the E.R. Dr. was able to suture it back on. 12 stitches (a lot in a 2 1/2 year old's lip). You can't even see the scar because the Dr. did such a wonderful job.
Then there was the time when my now 22 year old was 2 years old and while I was cooking Pork Chops decided that he wanted to watch. He climbed up on one of those Tupperware containers that we kept the dog's food in and just as I turned to tell him to get down he fell forward. He hit the middle of his forehead right on the corner of the wall. His head swelled so much during dinner that it literally split and started bleeding. I was in college working on my license for nursing. We had no insurance and so I treated him at home. I checked his pupils every couple of hours and woke him up every 4 hours at night for a couple of nights. He had no ill effects and was an A student throughout school. He now attends college and makes the Dean's list every quarter.
I can't forget my now 17 year old who was about 2 1/2 when he put his finger the the door jam as my husband was closing the door. The door was one of the metal security doors. The door cut off the tip of his left ring finger. Again, the tip was hanging by a piece of skin. The local hospital sent my husband to a Trauma hospital (where I was working) 25 miles away. So I left work and met him at the local hospital only to drive back to where I worked. Luckily, the finger was sutured back on and other than the nail being a little longer than the other nails and the tip being numb, you would never know it was cut off.
There were many other stitches, broken and fractured bones but these were the most extensive.
As for you son. Keep an eye on him for the next few days. Watch for confusion, unusual sleepiness, nausea or vomiting. If he has any of these symptoms, call you pediatrician. Most importantly, any change in his pupils. You can shine a light into his eyes and make sure that the pupils react (constrict) equally. If one of the pupils doesn't react, take him to the E.R. This could be a sign of brain swelling.
If you are still uneasy or he keeps complaining of his neck or the back of the head hurting, call your pediatrician and take him in for a check up.
Make sure to let us know how he is doing. And don't feel bad, children are always getting hurt, even when you are right there with them. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes and don't repeat things that causes them to get hurt.
C.
Elyria

My daughter is 3 now and has survived smacking her head good twice. Once on a metal railing when she fell off the second step at our former apartment complex. She had a HUGE goose egg on her forehead. Freaked me out big time, I was terrified. Luckily my husband had a younger sibling who had a habit of getting good knocks on the head. We watched her for 48 hours, no mood changes or equilibrium issues so all was good. The second time she tipped backwards while sitting and playing in a box. She hit her head on the entertainment center. That one scared my husband because she managed to cut open her scalp. I'd dealt with head wounds like it before so it was my turn to be the calm one.

She's fine now, happy and healthy, has a scar now, but all is well. Now she's covered in bruises and nicks because she just rips around like a loon. She rarely notices and I never see them until bath time. This will pass for you and it's likely not going to be the first time he falls over in one way or another. They are called toddlers for a reason and sometimes they just tip over. I think it just scared you both good, perhaps enough he'll listen a little better when you tell him to sit.

Just watch him for balance issues or personality changed, if nothing happens in the next day or two all is well.

Good luck.

I have to agree with the Jilly613. Dont not put him on your bed again. Kids will fall and get cuts and bruises. Keep an eye on him and as long as he doesnt seem to be having any issues he will be fine. My almost 3 year old hopped on a trike last year and went full speed down a driveway. I caught him before he hit the end but he still flew over the handlebars and landed face first into the pavement. Not a scratch on him! I couldn't believe it. He was fine. You son will fall many times in his life. If he falls off his bike are you not going to let him ride a bike anymore? If he gets hit by a ball playing sports are you going to make him stop? It is scary the first time they get fall off something but dont let him not go on your bed with you. Just teach him to pay attention and to sit not stand on it. This was just the first of many im sure.

When my daughter was about 17 months I had her sitting in her crib. My husband & I were having a conversation RIGHT BY HER! Somehow though, we missed it & she climbed over the rail & fell right out of the thing. She cried & cried & cried. I was upset too but you HAVE to get back on the horse. Accidents will happen even when we are right there. That's why they're called accidents. It's not like you pushed him off the bed. So first I'd like to say, don't be too hard on yourself for it. I think it's probably OK to put him on the bed again... I even bet he's more careful about the edges of the bed now. Hard lesson learned but I bet he learned it.

As for him, if he's saying his neck hurts it could be whip-lash. If he's still complaining of pain tomorrow, I'd maybe take him to the doctor. Jut the pediatrician to see what they say. There are a few things I always check for when my daughter falls (who is now 32 months old) that I've always checked for: Bumps, bruising, blood... If all that checks out ok then I'll make sure her eyes dialate when you put a light near them. And I will keep her awake for a good hour after it happens. If any of this stuff isn't working out right then we go to the doc.

I'm sure your little guy will be just fine but keep an eye on him. :)

A.

I am with most moms that it is probably the first of many, and you will not always be able to keep him from falling off things and getting hurt. I am surprised at 26 months that he isnt climbing on the bed and falling off on his own. My son is 32 months now but has been climbing since 26 months maybe longer, and falls as a result all the time. You can't disregard the fall as it could be more than just a bump. Of course watch for the signs of dizziness, disoriented, unusually sleepy, hard to wake, and some of the others that have been mentioned for the next couple days. I think that since you said he is complaining of his back and neck, that is what I would be most concerned about. I think I would have him checked if he keeps complaining about it bothering him.

First of all... breathe. Stay calm. As many of the moms here have already said, kids are incredibly resilient! I have 2 boys ages 2 and 4, and I've lost count of how many times each of them has gotten hurt from falls and such. They are both climbers and extremely active, so despite my best efforts, I have just come to terms with the fact that there are going to be a lot of 'boo-boos' now and in the years to come. In fact I just had to cancel professional pictures last week because the day before the pics the 2 year old fell face first off a picnic table onto concrete and had a pretty good scrape above his eye and a huge blue and purple goose egg in the middle of his forehead... what timing! Anyway, follow the advice the other moms have given about warning signs indicating something more serious, but he is probably fine and this will unfortunately be the first of many accidents.