It was bound to happen. Everyone talks about how toddlers bang and bump their bodies into things, and my daughter is no exception to this. However, this week she did more than just walk into something because she wasn’t watching where she was going (typical behavior for her and something we are trying to work on changing) – she fell off the couch and banged her head. Hard. It immediately left her screaming, with a big blue raised bump on the side of her head.

While I know that we can’t always protect her and that bumps and bruises are a normal part of childhood, a bump on the head is another issue. After comforting her and putting an ice pack on it for as long as she would allow (read: not long), we gave her some extra love and some favorite toys, and before long she was back to her normal self.

Once the tears dried and we could reach our computers, my husband and I both got on the Internet to research toddler head bumps. We were comforted to see that most sources said that head injuries in babies and toddlers are not uncommon; however there are some things to watch for to make sure it’s not serious. Watch your child to make sure that they are acting normally; signs of serious trouble include bleeding or leaking from the eyes, nose or mouth; difficulty walking or talking; vomiting; unconsciousness; and abnormal tiredness or sleepiness.

Luckily, she didn’t seem to affected by the bump and has acted normally ever since, but it did serve as a heads up that there are things we cannot control and that kids do have accidents.

Head Injuries in Infants and Children

While the rate of accidental deaths in children in the U.S. have been declining steadily over the years, there is still room for improvement. Safe Kids USA has recently published the findings on their study. Some of the revelations show that childhood injury deaths have declined from a high of 15.4 per 100,000 in 1987, to 8.5 per 100,000 in 2005. This is cause for celebration, but injury accidents in childhood is still the main cause of deaths kids aged 1-14.

The study emphasizes that these deaths are preventable, caused by a range of events such as drowning, car accidents, fires and burns. One alarming trend seems is the 21% increase in death by suffocation for those children under 1 yr. old. The study shares that this increase may be from co-sleeping, or from soft pillows and other bedding.

What You Can Do As Parents:

• Take the time to baby-proof your homes.
• Ensure proper child-safety restraint is used at all times when driving your children.
• Never leave your child unattended in any water, no matter how shallow.
• Make sure your infants do not have any unnecessary bedding in their crib. Swaddling, a light blanket or a sleep sack may be best.

Here are some other links to help you keep your children safe:

Don’t Skip a Step with Child Passenger Safety

How to Use Your New Baby Crib Safely

Childproofing Your Home

Arnica is probably the best known of the homeopathic products. It is generally available in tablet, gel or cream and sometimes in tincture (liquid) form. Arnica is one of those products that I carry everywhere with me and consider it essential for those with young children.

Arnica is made from the arnica plant which is a member of the sunflower family. It is generally known as a treatment for bruising, but also helps the shock of the accident (however minor) as well and providing pain relief. So if your child hurts themselves and you think they are more upset at the shock of it than the pain, arnica will still help. I had a lot of teeth out a couple of years ago and had practically no pain with any of them. I took one remedy before leaving the dentist and then another one each time any discomfort arose, they can be taken as often as every 15 minutes. Sometimes hospitals are even recommending it after operations.

The best potency for first aid purposes is 30 and I would generally recommend the tablets rather than the cream, although there is no reason why you can?t use them both, although arnica cream should not be used on broken skin, as it may cause a rash. It is perfectly safe to take when pregnant or in labor and is recommended after birth to help any discomfort or shock to the body. The tablets are tiny and just dissolve under the tongue so any child can take them. Alternatively you can crush one up between two spoons or dissolve it in a drink.

I consider Arnica 30 an essential for any first aid kit.

Ford Motor Company recently announced that they were in the process of developing new sensors for child crash test dummies. The new sensors will be made to fit inside the abdomen of child sized dummies to record data about what happens to internal organs in a crash.
Previous testing focused on child head and neck injuries, and only on adult abdominal injuries. But as children are much smaller, and child seat belts and harnesses differ significantly fom adult ones, children can suffer different injuries in an accident. Ford hopes data from testing using the new sensors will lead to improved child restraints.

Crash test dummy manufactures make male and female adult dummies, a range of different age child dummies, and even baby dummies. What’s missing? Researchers at Volvo in Sweden and Loughborough University in the UK are developing a pregnant woman dummy, with a fluid-filled bag to simulate the uterus and baby.

A significant cause of death for pregnant women and unborn babies is car accidents. Partly it’s because researchers don’t really know how car crashes affect unborn babies and pregnant mothers, and seat belts aren’t designed for especially for pregnant women. The scientists hope the new dummy will help car makers develop restraints that can better protect pregnant women.

Another, avoidable, cause of injuries and fatalities is that many pregnant women don’t wear their seat belts. They are not comfortable especially in late pregnancy, and where should the belt go around the bump? Despite that, you should always wear your seat belt, to give you and your baby the best chance in an accident. The hip belt goes under the bump, low on your hips, and the chest belt over the bump between your breasts. The belt shouldn’t go over your bump.

And what if you are unlucky enough to be in a crash while pregnant? Even if you feel fine, get checked out by your doctor as soon as possible – here’s why.

So right now, there’s no special seat belts for pregnant woman, but lets hope there will be one for your next pregnancy. Would you buy, or have a special seat belt fitted if you could?