Accidents happen so fast!

Jenni - posted on 04/13/2011

So true. Disposition has a lot to do with it. I've heard it from people before: "Some kids are just more accident-prone than others." We have to be extra cautious with those ones. My son has a concerning habit of wanting to touch EVERYTHING. He is nearly 3 now and still has to investigate everything he sees with his hands and is naturally curious. Whereas my SD is the exact opposite. So we have learned to be even more cautious with him and have had to go above and beyond to child-proof our home with him.

Veronique - posted on 04/13/2011

@ Jennifer! Omg,what a story. Well thank god he's ok. I know that it's an accident and we're lucky nothing happened and believe me i in no way what to rub this in his face because it could have happen to me also, but that what if bugs me. It seems like our oldest obeys all the rules never really got hurt always stays in the backward always comes when we call her and our second is the reverse. She broke a top front tooth last week from falling flat on her face, never listen, always wonders off, when we call her she's like " yeah yeah, when i'm ready i'll come see you " not in so many words cause she's only 17 months but you get what i'm saying. Anyway it's like we have to oppisites, one that listen and is the good girl and the other which is a rebel and never listen lol.

Ah life of being a parent! :)

Krista - posted on 04/13/2011

Yeah, that verbal check is a big one, Jennifer. We do that now. This had happened back when Sam was about 10 months old -- we got back from shopping, and I desperately needed to pee. Keith was unloading groceries. Each of us thought the other was watching Sam, and neither of us had put up the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. So I come out of the bathroom, look around, and said, "Where's Sam?" Keith said, "I don't know, I thought you were watching him." There was about three seconds of silence, and we then hear "Ha-HAAAAA!" coming from our bedroom upstairs. The little fart had crawled up our entire staircase and was in our bedroom. If he had fallen down those stairs...yikes.

So yeah, we now do the verbal check all the time.

Jenni - posted on 04/13/2011

Oh lord yes. I can relate.
I was 8 months pregnant with my daughter and we had just got back from a family hike with my 21 month old son. I was resting on the couch, hubby went to the kitchen to start dinner. I watched my son walk into the kitchen. No big deal, hubby was there. A few minutes later there's a knock on the door. I look out my livingroom window and see a man holding my son in his arms. I had to double take, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My heart immediately jumped into my throat.
I ran to the door and took my son from the man. He explained he had been walking with his family across the street when he saw my son run from my backyard across my incredibly busy street.
I held my son so tight and it still haunts me to this day what could have happened and how lucky we were.

Apparently, my husband hadn't heard him slip past him in the kitchen and we had left the back door unlocked and on top of that had left the gate to the backyard open. Something we had always been cautious about but until then my son had never been able to open a door by himself. We immediately bought covers for the doorknobs and on top of that check the locks as much as possible to ensure they are locked including the chain lock.

I had nightmares for months about something terrible happening to my son and am now obsessed with checking locks. It was an unbelievably tramatic experience for me.

Ok but it gets worse... we had another scary experience happen only a few months later. I had just had my daughter and my husband had been taking my son out in the yard often to give me some mom and new baby time. He was cutting the grass one time. He had just filled the mower up with gas and left the gas jug where he filled it up. Then started cutting the grass. He made it down one row before he realized, "Oh crap. The gas jug!" He turned around to go put it away and just then my son started screaming. He had poured gasoline on himself (he thought it was a watering can because he often poured the watering can on himself). I'm nursing my newborn in bed and all of a sudden my husband comes rushing in the house panicing and yelling and my son is screaming his head off. We had to call the ambulance. We were worried he had injested some. By the time the paramedics came he had stopped crying and seemed normal. They didn't believe he injested any but his skin was a bit burned where it pooled in his diaper. They said he'd probably be throwing up if he injested any. Thank god he didn't.
We felt like horribly, negligent parents.
The paramedics ensured us that in their line of work we'd be surprised how common things like this are. But it still did nothing to ease our pain, fear and self-blame.
I know what you're going through and it's tough. I'm not going to deny that. But accidents do happen they can't be prevented 100% of the time. We just have to work on being more cautious but even then... they can still happen. My husband and I always make 100% sure verbally that we know the other is watching them if we decide to leave the room.

Cathy - posted on 04/13/2011

You can do everything you can to protect your children BUT grow eyes in the back of your head.

I was frequently found playing with rocks in the street as a young child. What truly baffled my parents was how I kept escaping the enclosed back garden. It wasn't until they one day caught me squeezing between the three inch bars of the gate that they figured it out.

Mistakes are made, you learn. I'm sure your husband feels worse than you can imagine. He's been honest about his mistake. He didn't try and cover up.

Veronique - posted on 04/13/2011

Thanks! I no he feels awful about it, so that;s why i did loose my cool yesterday but just sitting on the couch last night watching my daughters play and all i was thinking is what if today would have turn out so much worse, we would be sitting here right now watching them play. Anyway i'm sure he won't do that mistake again.

Krista - posted on 04/13/2011

I think we've all had moments like this. I was bringing my 19-month old out to the car to go visit my sister, and had to untwist the car seat strap before putting him in. So I let go of his hand, untwisted the car seat strap, and then reached down for him and he was gone. We're talking FIVE SECONDS. My heart was in my throat, and I was calling for him. I ran around to the front of the vehicle...nothing. Did a quick scan of the yard...nothing. Our yard has a forest on one side and a river on the other, so I was terrified to go in one direction, because what if he was headed in the other direction? Then I saw him ducked behind the rear driver's corner of the vehicle, inspecting my taillights. He was only "missing" for about 10 seconds, but it was the longest 10 seconds of my life.

So yeah, it's happened to many of us at one point or another. Go easy on your husband -- it was a dumb mistake, but I'm sure it's one he'll never make again.

Tah - posted on 04/13/2011

accidents do happen fast and we know that it could have ended very differently, you guys are truly blessed it didnt. I have noticed that some dads are a little less watchful, or less aware when watching kids, They dont think things through. Us moms will definitely round the kids up and take them in the house with us at that age. You have every reason to feel that way. i would just talk to him, after you cool down and remind him that at those ages they dont know and are fast and you have to watch them constantly because just that fast anything could have happened. I see kids 2 and 3 crossing the street with their 5 year old siblings to come to the park by themselves, and i dont care if mom is in the window or on the balcony(which i never see) that is too young to let them come unsupervised and i have become the park nanny at times when im there with my 4 year old, pushing them on swings, stopping tiffs and running after them when they are headed for the street. Just lovingly remind him about the dos and donts as dads sometimes need more direction with these things, im sure he feels awful, (and some moms apparently..lol)