For the past three months he has not slept through the night. At random hours he comes into my bed to sleep with me. The first week he had the accident I let him sleep with me so he would be secure and I assumed he kept coming back because we established a pattern. But my mother informed me recently he has been having nightmares.
The accident occured as a result of a Little Tikes toy dislodging and falling onto him propelling him onto the cement area of the playground. He scraped his head and it looked so awful I had to hold back from crying. I took him to the emergency room and he had an MRI. There was no damage on the x-ray and with using aloe vera and cocoa butter the scar is pretty much clear now. But my mother said in his nightmares he's grabing his head and and yelling out "no, no, no". What should I do to help him?
Before knowing he was having nightmares I was actually scolding him for waking in the middle of the night to sleep in my bed and now I feel so guilty.
2007-01-16 16:24:01 · 11 answers · asked by Bonita Applebaum 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
Don't feel guilty about this at all.
Talk to your pediatrician...he may need some child based therapy to help him process what happened...it's not unusual...and if this truly is PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), best to get it remedied now than later, when things get (and they can) MUCH worse.
2007-01-16 16:28:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
A lot of the behaviors you mentioned are stress related. Whether it is the stress of being touched or something else is for you to determine. Masturbation and bathroom accidents are red flags. Most very young children don't understand masturbation or that area of the body very well. Most children do touch themselves, but only to see what is down there. If she is lingering or seems into it, something is going on. You have done everything you can do at this stage, except pulling her out of the situation. If that is possible, I would do it. It also sounds like someone is threatening her not to tell. When she told you about her friend touching her privates and then said she was kidding, in her head she told you but now her friend won't be mad because she said she was kidding. It's how the 5 year old mind works. I was abused twice as a child (both were one time things) but it caused my behavior to change in some ways, a lot of which you mentioned. 5 year olds can't always verbalize what is going on, but her behavior is telling you something is not right. If you are not sure if it is happening at daycare, think about all the people she comes in contact with. In my opinion, it sounds like something is going on somewhere.
2016-05-23 23:07:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Talk to your son about what happened at daycare. I bet seeing the doctor was more scary than falling and getting hurt.
Talk to your son about what happened. Help him find the words to describe it - scary, hurt, fall, doctor, etc. Have him draw some pictures.
Then find out if your son can go back and visit the hospital, so he can see it's a nice, friendly place. Maybe he can talk to a nurse or volunteer there, just have a happy little visit and get a lollipop on his way out.
It may also help to get a children's book about seeing the doctor. You can read about it and say "Remember when we did that? We took you to the doctor, didn't we?"
2007-01-16 16:46:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please, don't beat yourself up about this. You need to stay positive. I work with children everyday, he is having a reoccuring nightmare that a lot kids have at that age. When he does wake up from a nightmare reassure him that everything is ok, and he is safe. His nightmare might not even be about his accident at day care, it might be something totally different. Talk to him about what he was scared of. It is good to talk about things like that, then your child will know that you are sure nothing will happen to him. You can try reading him books to try to get his mind off of his nightmare to help him get back to sleep easier.
Good Luck!!
2007-01-16 16:33:24 · answer #4 · answered by Olivia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try some simple roll playing with him... let him touch a little tikes toy.. let him even scold the toy.. saying "bad toy".. then tell him to laugh at the toy.. making a fake falling down movement and saying "uh oh, baby fell down"..and laugh and laugh and laugh.. make it seem neutral now. its like falling off a bike and getting up, dusting off and getting back on.. He needs to work through his fear.. Maybe you are helping flame that fear..
2007-01-16 16:33:25 · answer #5 · answered by Mintee 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
sounds like something else happened.. did you see the fall and the toy falling on him... cause it sounds like something worse happened... is there other changes.. are you new at going to work since he is born...
Sometimes night tremors and nightmares happen.. what are they about... I would take him to child therapy.. I took my kid once and they said everything was fine... she only went once and we just played
2007-01-16 16:29:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
he needs counseling. my son had a similar accident. he fell off of a little tykes slide and broke his elbow and he had to have some counseling not much this was more traumatic for him. the mri may be why. reassure him that he is safe and see his regular doctor about some counseling
2007-01-16 16:28:51 · answer #7 · answered by kleighs mommy 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It may just be the traumatic experience I don't know if they offer mental health help for children that young but you should look into it!
2007-01-16 16:29:19 · answer #8 · answered by Maria C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok, stop beating yourself up over it, that won't help things. Focus your energy on your little guy. Call his pedi and make an appt. Discuss the accident and the behaviors you are seeing now and see what he/she suggests. Good luck!!
2007-01-16 16:29:26 · answer #9 · answered by jilldaniel_wv 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Try going with him
2007-01-16 16:54:40 · answer #10 · answered by Wat Da Hell 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋