You Be the Parent: Head Injury Edition

You are whiling away a cold and rainy morning doing the Hokey Pokey.  Your 3 year old son has been very enthusiastically shaking it all about, so much so that he has collided with the corner of the coffee table mere minutes before you are to take him to school.  A large goose egg has risen on his brow, but (despite some initial tears), he is otherwise unscathed and begging and pleading to go to school.  Do you:

A)  Keep him home from school with an ice pack on his head, just to keep an eye on things;

B)  Keep an ice pack on his head for a little while and bring him to school late if he seems okay (even though the school frowns on late arrivals and this change in schedule will render your daughter's nap FUBAR);

C) Not understand the question because you have padded all hard edges in your home and would never experience shoddy parenting such as this;

D) Not have time to answer the question because you are already speeding to the emergency room;

E)  Send him to school as usual and ask the teacher to keep an eye on him. (Thanks to swampy for remembering this option.)

I look forward to your response.

Comments

[swampy]

I'm pretty lax. I would probably chose E) Put away the ice pack and send to school on time. Assuming he was still asking to go. But I would let school know what was up and to call you if he turned worse.

[yasmara]

Ha - I was just about to say EXACTLY what swampy did! Option E...

[VHMPrincess]

i agree --> E school. If he's alert and not complaining, GO!

[victoria]

I'm with swampy. My kids never let me put an ice pack on anything anywat ;)

[Lori]

After Head Injury (Infant Edition), in which I fell on top of the Baby Bjorn'ed 3 month-old on our rough concrete driveway (audible *crack* of his skull hitting the pavement inclusive) and he was fine, I'd probably also go with E.

[cate]

E, without a doubt

[caro]

Glad to hear I'm far from the only one who'd write in E.

[Erin]

E.

[Carla Hinkle]

Yes, definitely E. Off to school you go!

[DD]

B. Because you used FUBAR in a post.

[Elizabeth]

E, no question.

Bleeding, confusion or sleepiness or unconsolable, maybe then B.

[Lee]

E

[rosie]

i'm really conservative and even i'd pick E! as long as there were no weird symptoms, i'd send him. lots of people to notice if something is wrong at school.

[thalia]

E. If he's got an external lump, it means he doesn't have an internal one, so he's likely fine.

And there is no way to achieve total padding. The child will always find the unprotected corner.

You also need to change your tag line given as how you are no longer a park slope person, yes?

[Perfectly Disgraceful]

E. Without a second thought. I probably wouldn't even say anything to the teacher.

[Amanda]

No open wound, loss of consciousness, or confusion? Definitely E.

[Megan]

I would have to say E or B. Only because I'd want ice for a bit if it were me. :)

[Mrs. Sprinkles]

Totally E.

[Jo-Ann]

E here

[Melissa]

E. Same as everyone else -- external lump = good (in the bump on the head scheme of things) and no blood. It's all good.

[Lisa]

E. Out is better than in, I've always been told, plus he can regale his school friends with the story of his "war" wound!

[snickollet]

Oh, so totally E. I'd probably forget to ask the teacher to keep an eye on it.

[liz]

E. But keep the ice pack on in the car.

[Sam]

E, if he didn't lose consciousness and your mommy gut says that he is fine.

[Sarah]

I'd go with an ice pack and E. I had a nasty concussion at 18 months (stood up under a table, and knocked myself out), and I was fine.

[Erin]

I choose E or "F--call the doctor on the way to school (who will probably say that option E is fine) just so that I can tell the teacher when she asks what happened."

[jen]

just to join the chorus: E, for sure.

[Amy]

E. No hesitation.

[midlife mommy]

B, then E. Because I'm paranoid and would want to watch for a bit. But, my SIL (the good one) ia a nurse, and fortunately, she was around when this happened to my daughter. So scary to see that goose egg! She said that since my daughter had cried immediately and had not lost consciousness, she would be OK. Also, the fact that the bruise made a goose egg is supposed to be a good sign too (an indentation in the skull would be a bad thing, I guess).

[Betty M]

E or B - although no ice packs in this house.

[deborah]

E, mos def.

[perceval]

b, and I would also ask the teacher to keep an eye on him.

e would be perfectly acceptable

[Emmie (Better Make It A Double)]

E - because the lumps on the brow aren't usually anything to worry about unless you crack a bone- the smacks on the back or side of the head that don't necessarily leave a bump are much scarier.

[Kira]

You're just so CUTE!
E.
Seriously.

[Miss W]

Am also a total 'E' parent. So glad that I'm not the only one.

[Jenn (dish)]

The ice pack and E, without a doubt. I think we've actually even done that a couple of times with no problems. Not that my house isn't fully padded of course (ahem).

[Julie]

E is not only what I would do, but also what I have done.

[Rebekah]

Wow. You're going to feel kinda weird if you didn't pick E at this point, lol! ;)

[Peggy]

E

[Amy]

I with option E too ... how is he doing btw??

[kathleen999]

E. I'd check his eyes to make sure his pupils weren't dilated, make sure he seemed normal, then off to school! I'd tell the teacher and ask them to let me know if he seems ill at all and assure them I will come right down and get him if he seems at all sick. (That's so the teachers don't freak...ours tell us not to bring them in if they don't get enough sleep...huh? what is nap time for??)