Do you have an accident prone kid that constantly hurts themselves or put themselves into harm’s way? In most cases if your child is accident prone it is something they will grow out of especially once they are past the difficult toddler years. As we all know the toddler years are the ones that your child does come into danger more often as your kiddies are unable to assess the risks close by. However, what do you do if your child is now older and is still getting a lot of bumps and bruises or worse? Here are a few little tips on protecting your accident prone child and hopefully the phase will pass quickly without any grave danger coming to your nipper. 

Understand why- It isn’t easy to understand why your child is accident prone and why they constantly hurt themselves but it is said that it is caused by your child being easily distracted. Some children are less focused on what is going on around them and as a result they may suffer more injuries. If your nipper has always been accident prone it may be just their way and part of their character to be reckless with their personal safety. However, if your child suddenly becomes accident prone you could question what has changed? Is your child stressed? And is it possible that there is stuff going on that is causing them to be preoccupied and unknowingly hurt themselves? 

Talk to your child- Either scenario above should be investigated, if your child is constantly clumsy and has been since a young age you could try explaining to your child your worries and ask them to take more care. If your kiddie has had a lot of accidents out of the blue you should ask your child if everything is ok? If you are not seeing these accidents could it be possible the injuries are caused by bullying? Or is your child’s carelessness triggered by stress or anxiety? In any case you need to eliminate that chance of any of these scenarios so you can help your child to keep themselves safe, as you can’t be with them all the time unfortunately. 

Take away the dangers- This isn’t always possible especially if your child is in big school but if your child is younger you should accept that leaving out photo frames is asking for trouble if your nipper is breaking stuff and hurting themselves in the process. Eliminate any chance of your child injuring themselves by following up on baby proofing with kid proofing! It may mean your house is particularly empty but that has to be better than an accident prone child and countless cries for help. 

Supervise your child and be mindful of their clumsiness- So your child is clumsy and is accident prone so it is best that you supervise them carefully and as much as you can. If accidents are happening at school, talk to your child’s teacher and tell her/him it is occurring at home too and ask if they can keep an eye on your child. Accidents may still be unavoidable but the good news is most kids grow out of this stage sooner rather than later! 

Written by Emma, staff writer with www.familyfriendlyhq.ie and Irish mummy blogger. Check out her own blog at emmasmadjotters.com