Author’s practical guidance
Soreness or marks you cannot account for
Source named in the book: AAP guidance on unexplained injury in young children
Small children collect bruises constantly, in places that make no sense, from events nobody witnessed.
Say this now
“I can see that's sore. We're going to see the doctor today.”
Matter-of-fact and immediate. No alarm in your voice.
“You're not in trouble, and you haven't done anything wrong.”
Children assume they are the problem. Say it first.
Do this
- Call the same day rather than waiting for the next appointment.
- Write down their words. Before you go.
- Ask nothing further once you have made the call.
- Go with them and stay in the room throughout.
- Do not confront anyone in front of the child, whatever you are thinking.
Avoid this
- Examining them again yourself to be sure before you call anybody.
- Asking what happened over and over. Repeated questioning makes everything afterwards harder.
- Waiting a few days to see whether it clears up on its own.
TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR IF
- Bleeding, bruising or soreness in the private areas.
- Pain on peeing or sitting with no infection found.
- Marks the explanation does not fit, or that recur.
- A child who says it hurts but not how it happened.
- Any of these with changes in mood or behavior.
Why the book suggests this
Small children collect bruises constantly, in places that make no sense, from events nobody witnessed. Shins, foreheads and knees are the ordinary geography of being three, and almost none of it means anything at all.
This page is narrow on purpose. Soreness or bleeding in the private areas is a same-day medical question rather than a wait-and-see, and it is a question for a doctor rather than for you. Your job is to notice and to make the call.
From this collection
Same Words: Their Own Body
45 prepared situations in this family area.