DC too many incident reports!

JWSchwarz

DS is in daycare full time. It's part of a really nice private school and I like all the teachers.

he is 1 year old and a really energetic boy and is running all over the place and climbing on things, so I expect some bumps and bruises. 

BUT he has had about 6 incident reports for falling in the last few weeks. One such incident resulted in a cut on his eyebrow that required 5 stitches. He fell yesterday while trying to push a highchair and bit a hole in his tongue, which bled for a while. he fell again today while he was running and hit his forehead really hard. These are not just little falls, they are serious enough to warrant a report that gets signed by the director, a visit by the nurse and checking for signs of concussion.

he falls at home occasionally but not that often and never that hard. We are always watching him to keep him out of too much trouble though.

do you think I need to talk to them about keeping a closer eye on him? The ratio is 3-1 right now so I don't know that this is the problem. Also, they have a pretty big tile area where a lot of these falls happen. I could suggest they carpet over half of it (all but the highchair area) but that is really the only way to keep him off the tile. 

WWYD? 

kmpls

He is at the age where they fall a lot but the severity and frequency of the falls is concerning.

Are you otherwise happy?

 I would at least talk to the director, maybe even switch daycares. 

cchill01

I'm usually pretty laid back, but that seems like a lot.  Our daycare does not allow running indoors AT ALL - even in the 1 year old room.  The teachers will sternly tell the kids to use their walking feet.  If a child won't stop, then they are diverted to the story corner or the kitchen to play.

Are they allowing the kids to get into a frenzy?  My guess is that one or more of the kids are geting your DS amped up. Which is why he doesn't behave like that at home.  Can they separate the offenders?

I would talk to them about classroom control.

LoCarb

I think you should pad LO with bumpers and Charmin TP each day. J/K of course! I would talk to the teachers 1st, express your concern and ask how they can help minimize the falls.  Maybe it has been a bad month for your DS and hopefully, you won't experience so many future scares.

MNgirl326

I would talk to his teachers and present it like, "I have noticed that he is getting a lot of incident reports that he is falling a lot.  Do you think there could be something wrong that I should get checked out?  Maybe his eyes or something?"

Ask them if they have noticed any other symptoms.  I have a very clutzy kid.  He falls all the time, its just who he is, but I have also had his eyes and ears checked just in case. 

Talk to the teachers and see what they say. 

PS- it is totally possible that he is growing.  I have noticed that when LO gets into a growth spurt he falls a lot.  He gets very clutzy and awkward and then when his growth spurt tapers off he gets more coordinated again.   

526SadieSadie

Where were the teachers when he was pushing a high chair? 

That's a lot of incidents of him getting hurt - kids get hurt but you're paying the DCC to watch him

2chatter

DD was like that in the 1 YO room.  I would have side eyed it hugely, except one of my BFFs was her teacher at the time (it was actually and MDO, oh how I miss the days of non full time day care).  She was less accident prone at home, but still had a ton of bruises, to the point I was worried what the ped would say at appts.  He said, "so, you have a rambunctious climber, huh?"

I did ask that they

- prevent her from running

- prevent her from climbing

- ensure there were no liquids on the tile area so she did not slip (sippy cup drips were the culprit once)

It did help, but not a ton.  I did learn that vanilla applied to a head bump prevents a bruise from coming out ....

ridesbuttons

At that age I remember taking DS1 in for his one year check up.  The doctor asked "are those from falls or mosquito bites?" because he had marks all over his head.

It only takes a second for a kid to take a header, so yes, a 3:1 ratio may be a factor in his falls/injuries.  He might be more clumsy that other kids and more of a risk taker.  That might just be his nature.

Do his indoor shoes fit properly?  If they are too big/small they might be part of the problem.

I'd ask them to try and keep a closer eye but truthfully I'm not sure what more you can do.

iluvmylab

We get at least one a week.  He falls at home all the time too, with me right there. Every injury gets a report at my DC if there is any sort of a mark- even if it's not serious.  

1026pumpkin

I would talk with the teachers about what's preventable and what's not.  I know DS had a report maybe once a month or so until he started walking, and then we went through a few weeks of 1-2 reports a day until he got more steady on his feet.  Some of the reports were for very minor tiny things, but they added up!  There were one or two times I thought maybe the DCPs could have prevented it, but at that age, the kids can get into things in a split second- DS has done things right in front of me and I couldn't catch him in time.

preggersin2011

At LO's day care, anything above the shoulders requires an incident report. I  have to sign one almost every day since LO will jump off of the stair climber and try to fly. Or she'll do something else to pump her head like push the crib around the room and try to climb in it from the outside. To me it sounds like a kid being a kid.

cecilyandgautam

If he's falling on the tiles, do you think it could be that they're just slippery? If so, would a pair of sneakers help his feet grip the ground better?

My daughter is also a year and still trips often while walking but she's not injurying herself.  

boggs507

ridesbuttons:

Do his indoor shoes fit properly?  If they are too big/small they might be part of the problem.

This.  When I first put DS in daycare he was about 14 months and falling all.the.time. I bought him new shoes and while he'd still occassionally fall it wasn't an inordinate number of times. 

Do you notice him showing any signs of an ear infection?  Maybe his balance is off because of something like that. 

JWSchwarz

Thanks everyone! There are so many good suggestions to go off of here.

- I sent him in different shoes today so they can observe and let me know if it might be his shoes

- The teachers are already probably scared of me a little - I kind of come across as a little intimidating, not on purpose - so I decided to take the approach of asking if they notice anything wrong that could cause him to fall - shoes, balance, etc. I think they are alarmed with the # of reports too, so I think they will pay extra attention for a while without me having to say anything

- I hadn't thought about his vision, but I have terrible eyesight so it's worth checking out

- he might be going through a growth spurt

I think I just need to stick it out for a few more weeks and see how this is trending. If it continues, I'll escalate with daycare. If not, I'll chalk it up to one of the above items!

Thanks for all your input!

Bella427

At our daycare when the kids have an incident report to sign, they have a brightly colored sticker on their back that says, "I have an incident report."  DS is in the toddler room too and he gets so many of these stickers, we joke we should get him a tattoo.  Definitely approach it with daycare like you guys are a team and ask for their input.  It sounds pretty normal though.  Hopefully this phase passes soon!