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Pre-School and Daycare
bride711
member
Injury first day of preschool ......had to go to ER
bride711
member
Hi Ladies,
Wanted to get your thoughts. ......
Our LO went to preschool first day. He does half days so it's mornings 830-12. Upon pickup, we got to the school and the director said to us I was just filling out an injury report on your son. My jaw dropped. She said that he was playing in the sandbox at playtime and got a substantial amount of sand in his eyes. They tried to rinse them out but for us to do it at home.
When we get out to our car he was telling us about his day and very focused on the sandbox incident of course. He kept saying "kid mean, don't touch my toy and imitated sand being thrown in his face". We took him home and started to irrigate his eyes and when I looked I saw that the bottom lids were filled with sand. He could barely open his eyes the more we irrigated them because the sand was moving around. He was screaming in pain.
We called the pedi and they saw us immediately. They were unsuccessful in irrigating them out. We had to take him to the ER and 2 1/2 hours later we left. The experience was very traumatic for him. They had to literally hold him down to have his eyes irrigated. I asked them to stop numerous times because I couldn't take watching him in that much distress of what was going on. Finally the doctor asked if I could irrigate them out and I ended up doing it. From the incident he has a corneal abrasion and we have to put anitbiotic ointment in his eyes 3 times a day.
The school never called to check on him after this event. And even up on pickup his teacher didnt even come over to us. She screamed from a distance of about 30 feet, "I hope that he is not to scared to come back to us". My husband and I thought for sure the delivery of how things played out could have been handled better. For one they should of called us at home when the situation happened, the teacher could have spoken to us even upon pickup and then a followup call to see how he was doing.
My husband called the school the next day to let them know what our son endured. They said there were sorry and they were going to educate the kids of how to safely play on the playground and encourage the teachers to be on more high alert upon play time in the yard.
My husband stressed our concerns and how we are uncomfortable and are concerned with the monitoring that is going on. We told them of course we understand things will happen and especially amongst toddler boys however to the extent of how things went that was something we did not expect.
They were not very nuturing and warm and more or less very defensive about the whole situation. Very stoic.
After my husband did make the call they had an edible arrangement basket sent to the house.
I also wanted to mention upon pickup when we saw his assistant teacher the first thing she said to us was "he had alot of accidents today" When he was washing his hands he got his shirts wet because he wasn't pulling up his sleeves and then the sandbox issue. I was more looking for something like we did this in our class today, we had the children (i.e. color) and then she could have led into the "accidents" as far as handwashing. I just felt when she saw us we got the feeling like " he is not up to par with handwashing and pulling up his sleeves" since when she spoke of it she mentioned maybe next time he will know that he needs to do that.
Sorry for the long vent but we want to make a very careful decision as to what we want to do. Do we send him back? Find another school? Dh and I are trying to iron out our concerns and see what we are comfortable with however I wanted to get your thoughts that if this was your child/children, what would you do?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Injury first day of preschool ......had to go to ER
I would bet that the preschool didn't realize how much sand was actually in his eyes. At least that's what I'm hoping in regards to why they didn't follow up. I would think the edible arrangement once they knew it required a hospital trip would mean that they do take it seriously and want him to feel safe at school.
I totally agree with you though, the teacher should have made more of an effort to speak with you regarding the incident but maybe she felt since you had already spoken with the director that you had the rundown on what happened. (just a thought).
The assistant, I totally think it was inappropriate to discuss other behavior things besides the sand. I mean not pulling up your sleeves on the first day of class? Are you kidding me? Isn't that what the teacher is there for? Guidance.
At DD preschool the assistant stands at the sink. Squirts one squirt of soap in the kids hands and she watches them wash their hands to make sure it's complete. The teacher stands right outside the bathroom stalls to make sure kids aren't messing around while using the restroom.
Playtime outside is so tricky b/c you want the kid to explore and have fun with their friends. Kids are everywhere so of course seeing what every child is doing all at once is impossible, but I would think the sandbox would be a place they monitor a little more closely. At DD's school they do not have a sandbox, so I don't really know what normal play is for that amount of kids having access to one and the risks that go with that.
Sorry, I feel like I'm writing a book about nothing that's making sense, I'm just trying to go through your post and hit on the points for what is normal (at least at DD's preschool) so there's a comparison.
Maybe the stoic behavior was because it was the first day. They haven't gotten to know you or your LO and kind of put their guard up not knowing how you would handle it. I'm not saying that's how they should have handled, but maybe why they were that way.
Personally, I would express your expectations if there are any future incidents and give it a bit more time. Do they have an open door policy? Maybe volunteer in LO's classroom and get a better idea of how aware the teachers are of things going on around them.
I'm really sorry that happened to your DS
Poor little guy. My DD had one injury report last year (for a bad head bump), and her school called later that afternoon and the next day to check on her. Her teacher also had me talk to DD when I got there to get her story, so they could do a better job filling out the injury report. I felt like they were very caring and concerned about her.
Accidents happen and kids throw things at each other, but it seems like the kids aren't being supervised well enough in the sandbox if that kind of thing could happen on the first day. I think I'd be looking around for a different school.
mmm....I am not really cool at all about this.
1. It takes a really long time to get that much sand in a kids eye. where were the teachers and aides
2. if they knew they had to rinse him; then they knew the sand wasn't out - why didn't you call the parent immediately?
3. F your edible arrangement; i don't want fruit I want a safe child.
JMHO - I would not stay at that school.
Injury reports are not a big deal to me anymore... my middle son got one every other week, he tripped, collided with a friend, bumped his head : ) but I did get a call last yr and my son was at the nurses office since his neck hurt. A teacher stayed with him the entire time, and even walked me to the car and was holding my youngest for me. Not only that they called later that day to make sure he was okay. I forgot he fell out of bed the night before and he bruised his collar bone. I do not expect a call for all the other injuries. I know at his current preschool he would be sent to the nurses office and get attention, and if it was necessary I would get a call.. but I only find out about the reports in his folder!
eh - I think its an unfortuante coincindence that this happened the first day of school, at the end of the day no less (they were preparing the incident report when you arrived, right?).
Unless my LO was violently/critically ill or injured, I wouldn't expect the school to call to follow up on his health. He got sand in his eye, not stabbed, you know? Sounds like a pretty normal childhood injury to me (although I'm sure traumatic for you and him). Did you really need an Edible Arrangement to appease you that they care about your kid? That's $40 in educational materials now the school is out.
Well...that's a pretty traumatic introduction to preschool.
In situations like this you need to, believe it or not, remove emotion from your decision making process, take a step back and think about the events logically. Was there any deviance from a reasonable safety standpoint; was there anything that could have been foreseen and the problem therefore avoided? How did the staff handle the problem once it occurred?
Another kid threw sand in your kid's face - not much warning about that especially on the first day when personalities are unknown. The staff rinsed out your child's eyes to the best of their ability and started an incident report. They told you about the problem upon your arrival and any other issues your child had that day.
Looking at the checklist, I'd say the school did right despite the fact that you had to go to the ER.
I don't get the fruitbasket angle except to say I'm sure everyone involved at the school end feels badly that your child got hurt.
So, it's a bummer but odds are you've got the worst of the worst over and done with.
Wow. First, I'm going to politely disagree with the KathrynMD. I would say that getting enough sand in their eyes to warrant a trip to the ER and be held down as it's irrigated is enough to expect the school to follow up on their health. And if they were nice enough to send the arrangement, I would hardly consider that $40 less educational materials for the school...good PR maybe, but not a detriment to the education of others. I would also agree with the poster that said they don't want fruit, they want a safe environment for their child.
Yes, accidents happen and it's normal for things to happen when kids are playing outside. However, the way that the staff handled it (especially no phone call immediately) is what would concern me. I wouldn't need them to go overboard and get crazy that this happened. But I WOULD like to know as soon as it happens and I'd definitely like them to be concerned. They don't need to kiss up, but if any child is hurt, upset or has a bad day for any reason, I'd like to think they'd try and discuss it with the parent, if possible.
I would definitely consider their lack of follow through and the way they handled it to be a red flag. I don't know that I'd pull my child out right away, but I"d be on the lookout for how problems are handled and how the communication is from them, and if there were another incident, I"d probably leave. At this age, their safety and happiness at school is the biggest issue.
I totally agree with this! Well said.
Would I pull my kid out of a school over something like this? No. Would I expect a follow up from the teachers any time my kid is hurt/sad/has a bad day at school? No.
But OP, it's totally your prerogative if you want to remove LO from this school; clearly based on some of these responses you wouldn't be alone in that decision. Do what's best for you, DH, and LO.
If you know other people who attend this school and they have great things to say about it, that's one thing, but I still think the handling of the incident was weird. It sounds like the director was telling you your DS "got sand in his eyes" and your DS was saying another kid threw sand in his face. That seems more plausible unless your DS face-planted in the sand with his eyes open. If another kid did throw that much sand in his face the teachers should have filled out an incident report for him, too, and spoken with his parents about it. They can't tell you who the other kid was, but they can at least accurately report what happened.
My DD goes half days, too, and I can count on one hand the number of times I saw the teachers filling out incident reports last year. Maybe this was an unfortunate first day of school accident. I think you have to just go with your gut feeling on it.
If my son gets home sick I don't expect a call the next day to see how he is feeling. I think the same principle applies here. If he was out for several days in a row, then maybe.
I can tell you that at the schools I have worked at we NEVER tell what child the incident happened with. You get the information pertaining to YOUR child. And yes, the teachers most likely talked to the other kid's parent to let them know about the inicident as well.
As far as "your kid did x today"...you may have been expecting we did activity 1, 2, 3, but you should have asked if that information wasn't given. I generally tell parents your kid had a good day. Or, your kid had some issues with problem x. But not a run down of the activities. UNLESS I am asked about it. Most parents just want to know how their kid is doing over all, so that is the information I give unless they ask something specific. I think you are reading too much into the handwashing thing. Yes, I'm sure they will work with him, but I think it was a way of letting you know that here is something that you can work with him at home as well, and if his shirt was still wet then giving you an explaination.
Basically, as much as it sucks that your son went through this, no matter how attentive the staff is, accidents WILL happen. Some severe, some really minor. I think the school handled the situation correctly, but if you feel differently, then you need to talk to the school. Explain that you want to be notified if he is hurt while there so you can decide what to do. Give examples so that your desires are clear, but be calm about it. The school may have been defensive, but I think that is a natural reaction. I think they apologized and went above and beyond to make that clear to you. I think that you should stick it out and just talk to the school about how you would have liked it to be handled.