DCG May Have Broke My Sons Nose..Now What?

[dEHmom]

It's very funny on here how every little thing turns into a HUGE debate! But maybe thats why I like this site so much?

Sorry Legomom, I don't think anyone on here is trying to make you feel horrible.

With regards to your original post,
1) I think the parents will probably tell you they are sorry about it
2) I highly highly highly doubt you would ever be able to get any kind of compensation from them for medical bills or anything down the road, unless they are just nice people and decide they want to help out.
3) Everyone is right about your son and this little girl. It's not EVER about what is actually happening, it's what people THINK is happening. Its sad, but true. and if that little girl said one day when he touched my bum or something like that, it's all gonna spin out of control, and often when a child gets a reaction, good or bad from anything, it's gonna keep going. She'll keep saying what everyone wants to hear. It's not worth what will happen to you and your son should that situation arise.
I understand because I have an extremely large extended family, and I have a little girl and 2 boys, and they spend lots of time with males and females of all ages. And I also know that my kids make up odd stories alot, and some of them I have had to inquire into a few times, because it was one of those "something isn't right" scenarios. They all turned out to be nothing wrong, but I had to take the time to find out. Kids say the darndest things!

[Lucy]

On another note, and I know some will probably not like what I am about to say, but I'm going to say it anyway becasue I feel it is important.

Your son, at 15, should not be wrestling around with a two year old on his bed. I am NOT saying he would ever do anything, BUT it could be percieved by a parent who walks in and sees it as something other than what it is. Frankly, she shouldn't even be in his bedroom. I'd be very careful about allowing this.

You know, I had something similar to this in my original post (#3 above), but I erased it. I wasn't sure how it would be taken, but I do mean it in the best way possible. Not judging or accusing, but one of my first thoughts was "why was this girl on a 15 yo boy's bed wrestling around with him?" I'm sure beyond a doubt that it was all innocent, but you know how some parents can be. I try to avoid ANY possible gray areas. Sorry again about your son. I hope he's doing ok.

[QualiTcare]

if a childcare provider drops a child, it's an accident. that doesn't mean the provider wouldn't be liable if the child was injured and had a medical bill. the provider is also liable for the children in his/her care. whether or not a child busted another child's face open by accident or on purpose is really irrelevant. it's not hard to prove negligence of a provider when there is an injury caused to one child by another. it can always be argued that the injury "could have" been prevented.

"maybe" the toy causing harm shouldn't have been allowed if it could do that much damage. "maybe" you weren't supervising closely enough to stop the child. being negligent isn't limited to locking kids in a room while you stay in another room watching TV all day or not bathing them, feeding them, etc. it's failing to fulfill your responsibilities, and your responsibility as a provider is to keep kids SAFE from harm. going to the ER for stitches or X-rays is not safe from harm.

if i'm driving and hit black ice that causes me to hit a car, that doesn't mean i was negligent. there was no way for me to know the black ice was there but i'd still be liable for the damages. there's no way to know a child is gonna bust open another child's face with a toy, but it's still a liability. that's why it's called liability insurance and not negligence insurance.

it has nothing to do with my personal opinion or what i would/wouldn't do as a parent or provider. i haven't even stated that. it's just amazing that people are so clueless to the facts and think that microsoft word and an ink pen is all they need to keep them safe from lawsuits that can destroy their business and their lives, really.

you can ask 10 lawyers the same question and get 13 different responses. you say the "waiver" doesn't amount to jack if you are negligent, and you don't think "accidents" are considered negligence. so, what exactly is the point in the waiver?

now, can you agree to disagree? ::

[Live and Learn]

I hope that your son heals quickly. I have teen boys myself...they are like big st Bernard puppies!::

My thoughts:
No dc kids in teen boys bedrooms.
No hard piggy banks in reach of 2 year olds.
You were the responsible adult in this situation so you are financially responsible.

I am no lawyer. These are just my gut feelings.

I hope that your son is ok. What a bummer.
Good luck

[legomom922]

Wow.......I had to put down my popcorn to respond......

pAmazing how some of you really put your own twist on this incident.......Did anybody read where I wrote that I was not there???????? Maybe you could also point out where I said we were in his bedroom?????? No wonder why stories get sooo screwed up..some people like to create their own details..and drama...

How do you think I knew she lifted her arms up and over her head and dropped the piggy bank on his face?? Did you read that part?

Has anyone heard of the word "assume"?

First of all, I live in a split level. We have a family room downstairs and a livingroom upstairs. The upstairs is where our 3 bedrooms are, 1 for each boy and 1 for us. The family room is where kids hang out in my house, you know, play video games, watch TV, play with toys, legos, and where I keep DC toys too. We have an old bed down there that kids sit on when they play video games etc. We do not have a couch. It's kinda like a finished basement room where all the "stuff" goes that doesnt go anywhere else, including old furniture. This bed used to be my DS's. We all still call it his bed..There is no boxspring or frame, it's basically just an old mattress kids play on in the corner of the room. I also have some shelves down there and thats where the piggy bank sits. I took it down from the shelf because DS had more change for DCG to put in it as she does every day when she is here. After a few moments, DCG set the piggy bank down and started to jump on DS and play as they always do, and he pretends he is a horse, and they make me crack up! They have fun, good clean fun, and I sometimes even send videos to the parents which they always enjoy. Then DCG stopped jumping, picked up the piggy bank and dropped it....End of story........DCM was upset that DCG did this to DS too, even though it was an accident..

And for the record, like I also said before in my post, this is not a professional relationship I have with this family.. DS babysits her sometimes, and since DCM comes soo early in the am, she will take DCG up to my DS's bedroom and plops her on top of him to wake him up! They even took my DS 4-wheelin up to their cabin. This is more "family" than anything else..

Next time, please don't assume because we all know what happens! ::

For those who are wishing my DS well, thank you so much. He stayed home today to rest, take his meds and now the bridge of his nose is turning blk/blue. I dont think it is broken, but it is sore from the impact. It's not quite as swollen as it was last night. Thanks again for those who were helpful.

[nannyde]

From your description you are 100 percent responsible for this. At age two she shouldn't be carrying around a big ceramic pigs. What if she dropped that from the top of her head onto her foot? She could have injured herself with that. You see what it did to a 17 year old. What would have happened if that would have been her little foot?

She shouldn't have been climbing up on a bed. She shouldn't have been on a bed with your son. You should have been in the same room with her and supervising what she was doing.

The "they are just like family" thing doesn't fly with me. They are family until the day when something happens. The judge won't care what you thought of your relationship and either will the DHS.

She is a paid kid and thus you are a day care provider to her no matter what you think now of your relationship. She needs careful supervision at all times. It is inapropriate to have her alone with your son in a bedroom on a bed. If he is going to interact with her it needs to be in a visiable area in your home with you present.

Seriously, this one just amazes me.

[JenNJ]

Sorry to assume a bed was in a bedroom...

[nannyde]

Wow.......I had to put down my popcorn to respond......

pAmazing how some of you really put your own twist on this incident.......Did anybody read where I wrote that I was not there???????? Maybe you could also point out where I said we were in his bedroom?????? No wonder why stories get sooo screwed up..some people like to create their own details..and drama...

How do you think I knew she lifted her arms up and over her head and dropped the piggy bank on his face?? Did you read that part?

Has anyone heard of the word "assume"?

First of all, I live in a split level. We have a family room downstairs and a livingroom upstairs. The upstairs is where our 3 bedrooms are, 1 for each boy and 1 for us. The family room is where kids hang out in my house, you know, play video games, watch TV, play with toys, legos, and where I keep DC toys too. We have an old bed down there that kids sit on when they play video games etc. We do not have a couch. It's kinda like a finished basement room where all the "stuff" goes that doesnt go anywhere else, including old furniture. This bed used to be my DS's. We all still call it his bed..There is no boxspring or frame, it's basically just an old mattress kids play on in the corner of the room. I also have some shelves down there and thats where the piggy bank sits. I took it down from the shelf because DS had more change for DCG to put in it as she does every day when she is here. After a few moments, DCG set the piggy bank down and started to jump on DS and play as they always do, and he pretends he is a horse, and they make me crack up! They have fun, good clean fun, and I sometimes even send videos to the parents which they always enjoy. Then DCG stopped jumping, picked up the piggy bank and dropped it....End of story........DCM was upset that DCG did this to DS too, even though it was an accident..

And for the record, like I also said before in my post, this is not a professional relationship I have with this family.. DS babysits her sometimes, and since DCM comes soo early in the am, she will take DCG up to my DS's bedroom and plops her on top of him to wake him up! They even took my DS 4-wheelin up to their cabin. This is more "family" than anything else..

Next time, please don't assume because we all know what happens! ::

For those who are wishing my DS well, thank you so much. He stayed home today to rest, take his meds and now the bridge of his nose is turning blk/blue. I dont think it is broken, but it is sore from the impact. It's not quite as swollen as it was last night. Thanks again for those who were helpful.

So the bank had MONEY in it too? Why did you allow a 2.5 year old to play with something that heavy? You know what happens when they lift heavy things above their head and drop them? Right?

[Crystal]

From your description you are 100 percent responsible for this. At age two she shouldn't be carrying around a big ceramic pigs. What if she dropped that from the top of her head onto her foot? She could have injured herself with that. You see what it did to a 17 year old. What would have happened if that would have been her little foot?

She shouldn't have been climbing up on a bed. She shouldn't have been on a bed with your son. You should have been in the same room with her and supervising what she was doing.

The "they are just like family" thing doesn't fly with me. They are family until the day when something happens. The judge won't care what you thought of your relationship and either will the DHS.

She is a paid kid and thus you are a day care provider to her no matter what you think now of your relationship. She needs careful supervision at all times. It is inapropriate to have her alone with your son in a bedroom on a bed. If he is going to interact with her it needs to be in a visiable area in your home with you present.

Seriously, this one just amazes me.

WOW! I totally agree!!!!

i really do agree, but just playin' with you Nan

[Crystal]

"He was laying on his bed and she was climbing and jumping on him etc"

This was in your original post. Saying HIS bed would clearly lead on to believe that it was in HIS bedroom. So sorry to have misinterpreted your post. However, your son should not be on a bed with a 2.5 year old, regardless of how innocent it is.

[QualiTcare]

Wow.......I had to put down my popcorn to respond......

pAmazing how some of you really put your own twist on this incident.......Did anybody read where I wrote that I was not there???????? Maybe you could also point out where I said we were in his bedroom?????? No wonder why stories get sooo screwed up..some people like to create their own details..and drama...

How do you think I knew she lifted her arms up and over her head and dropped the piggy bank on his face?? Did you read that part?

Has anyone heard of the word "assume"?

First of all, I live in a split level. We have a family room downstairs and a livingroom upstairs. The upstairs is where our 3 bedrooms are, 1 for each boy and 1 for us. The family room is where kids hang out in my house, you know, play video games, watch TV, play with toys, legos, and where I keep DC toys too. We have an old bed down there that kids sit on when they play video games etc. We do not have a couch. It's kinda like a finished basement room where all the "stuff" goes that doesnt go anywhere else, including old furniture. This bed used to be my DS's. We all still call it his bed..There is no boxspring or frame, it's basically just an old mattress kids play on in the corner of the room. I also have some shelves down there and thats where the piggy bank sits. I took it down from the shelf because DS had more change for DCG to put in it as she does every day when she is here. After a few moments, DCG set the piggy bank down and started to jump on DS and play as they always do, and he pretends he is a horse, and they make me crack up! They have fun, good clean fun, and I sometimes even send videos to the parents which they always enjoy. Then DCG stopped jumping, picked up the piggy bank and dropped it....End of story........DCM was upset that DCG did this to DS too, even though it was an accident..

And for the record, like I also said before in my post, this is not a professional relationship I have with this family.. DS babysits her sometimes, and since DCM comes soo early in the am, she will take DCG up to my DS's bedroom and plops her on top of him to wake him up! They even took my DS 4-wheelin up to their cabin. This is more "family" than anything else..

Next time, please don't assume because we all know what happens! ::

For those who are wishing my DS well, thank you so much. He stayed home today to rest, take his meds and now the bridge of his nose is turning blk/blue. I dont think it is broken, but it is sore from the impact. It's not quite as swollen as it was last night. Thanks again for those who were helpful.

i never thought much of it honestly, but now that you mention this - your OP does say "his bed" and you say here that each boy has his own room so it would be normal for someone to assume when you say "his bed" that you were talking about the one in his room instead of a community mattress type thing located in the family room (which i know what you mean by that also).

[legomom922]

From your description you are 100 percent responsible for this. At age two she shouldn't be carrying around a big ceramic pigs. What if she dropped that from the top of her head onto her foot? She could have injured herself with that. You see what it did to a 17 year old. What would have happened if that would have been her little foot?

She shouldn't have been climbing up on a bed. She shouldn't have been on a bed with your son. You should have been in the same room with her and supervising what she was doing.

The "they are just like family" thing doesn't fly with me. They are family until the day when something happens. The judge won't care what you thought of your relationship and either will the DHS.

She is a paid kid and thus you are a day care provider to her no matter what you think now of your relationship. She needs careful supervision at all times. It is inapropriate to have her alone with your son in a bedroom on a bed. If he is going to interact with her it needs to be in a visiable area in your home with you present.

Seriously, this one just amazes me.

See what I mean? Let me point out all of your errors:
1. She wasn't carrying the pig.....
2. DS is not 17
3. She wasn't climbing on the bed
4. She wasn't alone
5. She wasn't left unsupervisied
6. She wasn't in a bedroom
7. He wasn't in non-visable area
8. I was not missing

Furthermore, how do you expect him to babysit her and not be alone with her in their home???

Seriusly, what amazes me is again how people assume & add their own details!

[nannyde]

See what I mean? Let me point out all of your errors:
1. She wasn't carrying the pig.....
2. DS is not 17
3. She wasn't climbing on the bed
4. She wasn't alone
5. She wasn't left unsupervisied
6. She wasn't in a bedroom
7. He wasn't in non-visable area
8. I was not missing

Furthermore, how do you expect him to babysit her and not be alone with her in their home???

Seriusly, what amazes me is again how people assume & add their own details!

Oh excuse me. 15. Same difference. I got the laying on his bed from your post where you said "He was laying on his bed".

How are you saying she's not carrying the pig when she had it and dropped it? Are you saying she was HOLDING the pig?

okay then... why in the world would you allow a 2.5 year old to HOLD a ceramic pig that had money in it? She could have dropped that on her feet?

When he BABYSITS her it's on their clock and their arrangement. She's not a day care kid when HE is caring for her in their home or even in YOUR home when they hire HIM to care for her.

You are changing the story and building a new story around your original one. The first thing you posted is the truth.

[QualiTcare]

Oh excuse me. 15. Same difference. I got the laying on his bed from your post where you said "He was laying on his bed".

How are you saying she's not carrying the pig when she had it and dropped it? Are you saying she was HOLDING the pig?

okay then... why in the world would you allow a 2.5 year old to HOLD a ceramic pig that had money in it? She could have dropped that on her feet?

When he BABYSITS her it's on their clock and their arrangement. She's not a day care kid when HE is caring for her in their home or even in YOUR home when they hire HIM to care for her.

You are changing the story and building a new story around your original one. The first thing you posted is the truth.

that's a little risky too. not now maybe - but IF something happened in her home and she's the daycare provider. big risk, actually.

[dEHmom]

Lol, sorry, I'm reading this post now honestly because of the debate.

Unfortunately it is very easy to assume things. Sometimes by us forgetting to imply something like a joke or sarcastic tone (I did this to myself the other day).

I have to admit I did originally read your post and thought to myself why was this little girl in the bed with him. But I also realized that you informed us of how it happened. It wasn't exactly clear to me whether you were present or if your son informed you of how it happened. I also didn't read every single word in your post, even if I had it is still easy to misread with other things going on right behind me (movie on, kids arguing etc etc).

Either way, to me, it is inappropriate to be in a bed with anyone else. Regardless of if he is the babysitter or you. And whether both of you are present or not. I understand you state this is a mattress in a room that is not a bedroom, but with a lot of the things you hear nowdays, for me, I'd rather avoid that all together. A communal mattress does not sound good! Sorry.

Originally your post was to vent about the accident, and to ask if you were entitled to any liability on the parents part. Which I think you've received your answer multiple times by now.

Glad to hear he is doing a little better. Did you find out if it was a clean break? I was lucky when I broke my nose on the monkey bars at school that it was a straight bar straight across teh bridge, I didn't have to have any alignments done! whew.