Sal’s best friend had an accident the other day - he fell trying to get out of his crib.  He’s 19 months as well.  Poor guy bent and cracked his humerus bone - taking him out of commission for a while from his toddler activities.  It was a big wake up call for us and something we can all learn from. 

I had heard from other moms that it’s a good idea to put a tent on top of the crib - even before they start climbing - so that it can be encorporated into the bed time ritual and that they’re used to it even when they get to the age where they might start trying to climb out.  We waited despite the good advice.  As Sal grew older I noticed he was a climber so  I bought one - but never got around to putting it on.  Well - it’s on now.  Wish we could have warned Sal’s friend too.  The crib tents are pretty straight forward to put on and add a great peace of mind.  It’s worth the money and the time to invest in - one of those safety things that just doesn’t get as much press for child safety.

The other big lesson that was learned by our friend’s family was what a difference going to a children’s hospital vs. a regular hospital makes.  For anything serious where time is of the essence and decisions need to be made quickly - it’s best to go to a children’s hospital or a pediatric emergency department where they will be able to act quickly and know what is best for a child rather then treating it as if it were the adult equivalent.  Sal’s friend got outfitted w/ a hard cast.  Later they found out from the pediatric specialist that this put him at risk for nerve damage, and trying to remove a hard cast will be another danger for futher injury -it’s a scary thing for anyone to go through - but hard to explain to a toddler that they will be ok and they need to stay still so that he doesn’t hurt himself more.  Kids are different, and when they’re hurt it’s an even scarier thing to go through since they don’t understand everything that’s going on - only that they hurt.   A children’s hospital will know what to consider, and be a lot more kid friendly to ease some of those fears.

So seriously - take some time to figure out where your local children’s hospital is.  Note the contact information.  If you’re in the ambulance - tell the driver to take you to the children’s hospital.  All of this were some hard earned lessons and could save you a lot of unnecessary grief that our friends went through.