spent the afternoon at the ER

Oh I'm so sorry for the little one!

Being a mother is so hard! My mother was recently reminding me that my sister cracked her head open (her expression) twice and broke her collar bone once by the time she was 6. Of course,she's the sister that will do anything for attention... Looking back on it, I don't know how my mom didn't go nuts or try to keep us sheltered, quiet and still - instead she was always telling us to go outside and play.

Hope Ella is feeling better. Did the doc write a rx for rocky road ice cream? I hear that is highly effective in treating boo-boos.

My brother landed himself in the ER every year of his life until his late teens...

take your pick: busted open his head on diving board, metal in his eye, coat hanger in his eye, took a bottle of pills at 2, drove the car when he was 2, broken collarbone, got hit by a car riding his bike...

my son broke both arms in the time span of 11 months. He was 4/5 at the time.  The second time we didnt' even bother going to the ER, pumped him full of tylenol and went to ortho in the morning.   It was a big waste of time that first time- four hour wait, xrays, wait some more, oh, it's broken.  They wrapped it in an ACE bandage and told us to call an ortho for a cast.  

Of course we've also had to go for stitches, etc.  No pokes in the eye yet.  Gosh, Comet!! 

feel better, little one!  Is she milking it? 

You answered your own question. Your mom was sending you out to play for HER benefit, not yours.

Autumn, I hope she's better soon.  

Awww. Glad it's not a break, and I hope she and you feel better soon!

I agree with your 'anything worth doing will cause bumps and bruises' parenting philosophy. I also lived it as a child--dislocated arm, two 'cracked open' head incidents, stitches, lots of stitches. And from what I remember, it was all worth it.

True, Mike. And I'm really glad that's how my mother handled it.

My neighbor, however, handles her own daughter much differently. No sports allowed - cuz she might get hurt. Oy! How is she going to learn to pick herself up if she won't allow her to fall down?!

Awwww, poor Ella.  It sure is no fun to see little ones hurting.  It hurts me and I don't even have little ones of my own.  I hope she gets well soon and gets the treatment she needs.  

I, too, spent a lot of time in the ER as a kid.  Cuts over both eyes, one with a rock sent flying by a homemade teeter-totter style launcher, one with a stethoscope flung by a playmate (no kidding, a freaking stethoscope).  Stitches in the hands from a broken bottle (twice) and once from our ghetto swingset.  Once for a nail through the foot.  Once after falling and knocking out two teeth.  And, finally, the pinnacle of them all, a cutting board to the head.  I was about 5 years old and was in the kitchen.  I bent over to pick something up and came up just as my dad was pulling out the cutting board.  I caught the corner smack dab in the middle of the forehead and immediately, it began spouting blood like a fountain.  I still remember watching the huge puddle of red accumulating on the hideous brown/orange/yellow lineoleum floor and splashing on the avocado green fridge. 

Funny that I was 19 years old before my first and only bone.  I managed to break my hand playing mud football with my fraternity.  And, heavens no, there was absolutely no alcohol involved whatsoever. 

Renee, my mom always used to tell us to "go play in traffic".  You'd probably get sent to jail for that these days.  She also let us (GASP!) ride bikes and rollerskates without helmets! 

Here's to cuts, bumps and bruises so that we have stories to tell our kids.

Tom