Help! DD falls all the time....

praline

My DD is 22 months old and has recently (beginning of January) started going to daycare three days a week.  We are having a hard time with her falling.  She falls all the time!  The daycare had to write accident reports for her all three days this week and her face is scratched up (from bark dust on the playground) and bruised (on her forehead).  She falls a lot at home too. 

What should/can we do?  We are going to take her to the shoe store this weekend and make sure her shoes are big enough (they aren't really old, but they grow fast so maybe she's gone up a size), and she wears Stride Rite tennis shoes so they are good shoes.  She runs kind of funny though and I think this contributes to the problem (like her feet almost cross in front when she runs and she trips herself alot, or gets ahead of herself).  She was a later walker (15 months) and she is a big kid (98th percentile for height and 90th for weight...off the chart for head circ).

What does a person do in this situation?  Just let her grow out of it?  Really try to keep running to a minimum?   I feel so bad for her and I worry about her really hurting herself when this happens every day, sometimes multiple times a day.  Trip to the pedi?

pincushions

Emilia falls all the time.

I notice when she isn't wearing her PediPeds or any other soft soled shoe it is worse.

She also runs in to everything. She is just soooooo busy.

Have you tried a thinner soled shoe?

praline

pincushions:

Emilia falls all the time.

I notice when she isn't wearing her PediPeds or any other soft soled shoe it is worse.

She also runs in to everything. She is just soooooo busy.

Have you tried a thinner soled shoe?

No, but I will try this suggestion.  The Stride Rites she has do have a pretty thick sole.  So the PediPeds are fine for the playground etc?

Thanks for the suggestion!

KoriBrett

Trip to the pedi and maybe an eval by an orthopedic doc. ?They'll want to watch her walking & running to see if maybe that's why she keeps falling. ?If so, they may do some therapy or bracing to correct and/or retrain her gait. ?I work in a clinic that makes braces - they really aren't scary I promise ;-) ?

Maybe catch her walking/running on video & bring that with you - might help the pedi to see her in action normally instead of just in the office, too. ?I hope it's nothing, but if it is something it's likely easy to fix. ?Could she maybe have an ear infection throwing her balance off ? Either way, I'd call. ?good luck!

pincushions

Yes!!!!!! She has been in her 18-24m PediPeds for 4 months and they have held up really well.

I love them. She is just now growing out of the 18-24m. We just switched over to Puddle Jumpers (they have a pretty flexible sole).

I really have noticed (after the fact) that she goes through clumsy spells during a growth spurt.

 

praline

Thanks KoriBrett...I think I will have the pedi look at her.  Even the daycare teacher today was trying to be nice but I knew what she meant about DD's running as she tried to tactfully explain to me why she thinks she falls... which is that DD runs funny.  She almost turns sideways when she runs...kind of like a twisting motion.  So, it may be completely normal, but given that she is falling so often I think I'd feel better having someone look at it just to make sure she doesn't need some kind of help. 

It also looks when she does it like it is a 'limbs all confused' kind of fall, and not a 'I'm dizzy' kind of fall, kwim?