It’s inevitable. If you have active kids, boo-boos are on the way. You can’t wrap them in bubble wrap, but when my kids were young, it sounded like a good idea.
Last week, my neighbor was distraught because summer had just started, and the youngest of her four kids had already sprained a wrist. I made her feel better in a hurry. I shared:
- None of my three kids has all of their front teeth. They are crowned and bonded depending on ages.
- They all haves scars from stitches on their heads. While my boys got theirs at school and home, my daughter did a header off the couch at my sister’s place. In Pittsburgh.
- Ryan wore a helmet one summer after the doctor told him to give his mom a break and take better care of his head.
And those were just a few of the head injuries. Mind you all of them played sports and there were some knots on the noggins there. And we lived across the street from a park with a giant sliding board, swingset, teeter totter and merry-go-round — some of that equipment dated back to my years as a kid, but they didn’t get hurt on it.
Here’s a link to how to keep your kids — any age — safe during sports, but keep in mind, most injuries happen at home and they are usually just goofy stuff: swinging on cupboards and counters, getting a door slammed on fingers or faces and cutting an ear while bouncing on the hide-a-bed. Come to think of it, my kids were always safer OUTSIDE the house. Enjoy a safe summer.
Pam Parker, mom of three and stepmom of three, is an award-winning writer and editor for Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.
