Moms and Dads, Ever been injured by your little angel? What's the worst owie you've received at the hands of your tot?

You don't "let them overpower you" ... they just do something unexpected. Just the other week, my 2-year-old wanted a hug from my husband. When he bent down to give him a hug, our son happened to move his hand and poked my husband square in the eye, scratching it badly.

mmm12:  I think you'll find that most of these injuries are accidental, not cases of parents being unable to control their children.  Kids flail around a lot without looking where their knees and elbows are aimed.  It's not bad discipline, it's high energy and poor attention.

Maybe you've got wimpy kids.

My first Son, now grown, was playing with a hard plastic See and Say thing, when he swung it and hit me in the upper forehead and drew blood, almost knocking me out.I was sitting on the floor playing with him at the time, and he had walked away for a second to get something...

Another time, I was laying on the floor stretching out for a few minutes, after cutting the grass, relaxing in front of the fireplace hearth. The hearth was about 4 to 5 bricks high. So "Little Sonny Boy" (about 2 years old and big for his age) git up on the hearth, and gav me and yelled..."Jimmy Superfly Snooka" went into spread eagle mode and lept off the hearth, right onto my stomach!!! I had my eyes closed and didn't see that one coming. It knocked the wind out of me for sure. UUUGGGHHH!!!! He thought it was pretty funny.

(As an FYI, Superfly Jimmy Snooka was a wrestler on TV back in the day. The move he gave me was one that Jimmy did to his oponents off the wrestling ring turnbuckle.)

This really brings smiles to my face. A bat to the groin, a head-butt to the nose, the ever flailing arms while in bed. You know, in the middle of the night that arm that lands smack on your nose. Or the kick in the ribs. Before bed time they want to play by sitting on your belly and jump up and down.

There are the more serious injuries that occur such as the pencil or finger in the eye. It is all a part of growing up. It is never intentional and as a parent you just have to suck it up and cringe through the pain. Learning is never an instantaneous thing for these little ones. It is a daily orientation that they eventually come to understand.

Glad I don't and don't plan to have any.

Z Ro, trust me when I say, parenting is a totally thankless job. Yeah, you have your Wow moments, but despite all the sacrifice, dreams and opportunities postponed indefinitely, all the effort, all the worry, seldom to kids ever understand what went into their upbringing, even after they're grown and educated. Regardless of how old they get, you never stop worrying, and seldom get a thank you for all you did. You dont do it for the thanks, although on occasion, it would be nice to hear.

Then, all too often, comes a divorce. The child gets influenced by one parent, and the othe winds up the villan. Parents dont go into the whys and whearfores of the divorce, so the kid never knows, and even if he/she did, they wouldn't understand.

Parenting is a thankless job, that is all too dificult and far less rewarding than most parents are willing to admit.

Ok now try to control a 7 yr old with severe autism. He kicked my hubby's shoulder (when he was 3) and tore his rotator cuff during a diaper change. He doesn't understand it hurts people, because he has sensory issues which make him not feel pain like the rest of us. I would LOVE to have you babysit for me for a day and see how good you do. LOL You gotta realize none of these people are saying if their children have "problems"...

you mean one of your children has never accidentally hit you, or bumped you, or dropped something on you? i stepped on one of my daughters toys and took a dive. all the other stuff is accidental. she does not mean to do it, kids just have a different reaction time.

Not to diminish the pain suffered and shared here but Spongemommy speaks for tens of thousands of us with kids with autism. Many of us deal with physical pain on a regular basis. It's not a good feeling to flinch anytime our child makes a sudden move.

As parent of a child with autism...agreed.

Hear! Hear! My autistic son kicked me in the kneecap during a huge meltdown in Walmart because I wouldn't give him candy. I limped out of there with him and later went to the chiropractor to have it popped back into place.

Years earlier another autistic kid in his preschool class ran into a wooden sink that was part of a child-sized kitchen set and knocked it over onto the top of my foot. I nearly fainted from the shock and pain. The school nurse came to treat me and then drove me and my son home because I couldn't use my foot to drive, thanks to the swelling and the ice pack she taped on it. That incident had a silver lining in that it was me the furniture fell on and not one of the kids. It also showed the teacher that the person who was supposed to have secured the furniture to the floor hadn't done their job, so more injuries were averted. The pain I had for weeks was worth it to ensure the safety of all the kids.

I have a 9 month old. She has the sweetest attitude. It's not about tantrums or bad behavior. It's just that her hands are in the exploring mode all the time! Now she is fascinated with my hair - ouch, ouch, ouch. Even before I can notice it, her hands are right there, just playing with it; at first, I thought: "Oh, how sweet..." and the next thing I know is "ouch!". Now I am forced to keep my hair pulled back - at all times. Once, she accidentally head-butted me pretty bad when she got really excited seeing her favorite toy. I was surprised she didn't get herself knocked out - and she didn't even notice it! It's definitely not about bad attitude or tantrums; it's just my daughter growing up.

Parenting may only appear thankless when something is expected in return. Love unconditionally and it is quite joyful.

Parenting a thankless job?! Every little kiss, hug around the knees, and even just watching my toddler sleeping, brings me such incredible joy. Watching her learn and grow is fascinating to me. Sharing her life with mine is the best gift I've ever had. I waited until I was 38 to have kids, so maybe I've learned to appreciate them for themselves, and not what they can "do for me." I certainly don't begrudge her enquiring fingers for accidentally poking my eyes, nose or face. Usually, all it takes from me is an "Ouch! that hurt!" and she will stop doing it. How will she learn, otherwise? I sure won't be "letting her know who's boss" by abusing her right when she is learning to explore her world.

mmm12, I have 3-year-old twins. Kids are kids, and until they get good at impulse control, they are prone to tantrums. Some kids (like my daughter) shriek at a tone that could shatter glass; others (like my son) are more physical. No matter how "tough" you are as a parent, there will be times when your kid completely loses their mind and acts out.

As far as the Walmart incident, you might also note that the mom said it was her daughter's "one and only tantrum". . . which doesn't sound like particularly weak parenting to me. . .

Ok, if that's how you look at it. But, I'm a mom also, and never got "beat up" by ANY of my children no matter what age.

So are you saying you've never been smacked, scratched or had your hair pulled by your infant that is still learning motor skills? Because I would find that incredibly difficult to believe. Heck I've just about gotten head butted by my infant who is still working on his ability to hold up his head. None of it is on purpose, it's simply a child learning how to control their body. In the case of the woman at Wal-mart, if her child had never thrown a tantrum before, she probably wasn't expecting her to go for the face and scratch the heck out of her. Maybe she just forgot to trim her nails that week so they were a little longer than usual...

All I am saying is you shouldn't make assumptions about a parent from a story such as that. An equally unfair assumption about you could be that you are a very uninvolved parent that isn't around your children often enough to be injured, which I am sure is NOT the case. My point is simply that making a snap judgement about someone else's parenting based on one story is unfair and inconsiderate.

I guess you don't understand what I'm saying. A mother got a bloody face, black eye and scratches because her 2 year old was mad that she couldn't keep some earrings. How do you rationalize that???? My snap judgement is based of this article. Sorry, she opened her parenting up to criticism, and no, it's not "cute".

To clear things up, I'm not criticizing anyone who's gotten their hair pulled by an infant, etc. Just the ones' who can't seem to handle their children's tantrums. And they think it's adorable and brag about their "battle scars".

I don't think it has anything to do with not being able to handle the child. There is a difference though when I have 225 pounds of weight to my childs 35 pounds. Sometimes in trying to control them you get hurt. I would rather be the one to get hurt than risk hurting them just to "show them who is boss". It's called control.

My mother recently said to me that me and my sister never did things like this as a child because we knew what would be coming to us.

One beating from our father was enough to know that we should just easy ouselves and keep quiet, at home or in a store.

That's what I mean, Z Ro. It's what having what GoodOleAmericanBoy calls control. And alot of people seem to think it's so cute and brag about the times their kids threw a tantrum. Being marked so badly and almost having to have plastic surgery. Yes, that's so ADORABLE.

Oh, wait. There's people out there who think, "What are you angry about, sweetie? Let's discuss this, my little 3 year old." will fix the situation.

I think we need to hit the mid-line here and quit accusing---She did the right thing by not allowing her daughter to have the earrings even tho she threw a tantrum, and she did say it was the one and only one. Dealing with the attack should be and could have been a separate issue she didn't care to comment on. To say that's weak parenting is just as bad as to assume that mmm12 is an absent parent. Or an over-bearing one if her kids never have acted out. Kids push the limit constantly, it must be nice to live in her world of perfection. My son is extremely well-behaved, but while playing I've endured many bruises and scratches that he didn't mean. He's thrown a tantrum or 2 over wanting a toy at the store but learned very quickly they didn't get him anywhere and doesn't throw them at all anymore.

mmm12 and Z Ro I am not sure why you would think talking about bumps and bruises is bragging. It is part of parenting. I laugh at many of these comments because I remember many of the stories I could tell. Why would you have me beat on my child because she jumped up to give me a hug and we connected jaw and head? That is abuse and I would rather not do that.

I do believe that if a spanking is required it is given. But I do go through steps first. I always give my children a chance to correct the bad behavior before corporal punishment. I always talk to my children and treat them with respect because I expect respect in return.

You seem to think you are so far above the rest of us and for your children's sake I hope Karma does not teach you humility. Oh and yes you can talk to a 3 year old to help them understand what is wrong and how your both can correct the behavior. You just have to talk on their level and not as an condescending idiot. It is usually best to let the child express why he or she is so upset but in private so you both don't build up more stress and if you are truly listening to your child you can help them understand how to deal with the problem.

So mmm12 you are saying a 2 year old should be whipped into submission and never throw a fit. Each of my children threw 1 fit......  I let them know that was unacceptable did not buy them the toy and we were done....but I have been poked in the eye, knocked in the head, hit in the nose and caused to fall.....all of which were accidents...unavoidable accidents  because I was playing with my children ...so trying interacting with your children and I just bet you wil be on the receiving end of a bonk or two  

mamakat, you've got me shaking my head because you are obviously not reading what I'm saying. Accidents happen and I'm not knocking that. It's the parents who let their children hurt them because they are mad. Teaching a 2 year old discipline and don't hurt mommy is starting a little too late. I believe that there is no excuse for your child attacking you because they are mad. Maybe others don't agree with me. The Walmart lady told her story, they think it's cute, but I don't. I think it's pathetic.

Even if this was the 1st tantrum...the mother should have considered removing the child from the situation immediatly along with leaving the store. The mom was probably in shock, but as a parent my self you must learn to nip this in the bud if you dont want this to happen again. The one and only time my 3 year old attempted to scream in a store, we immediately left--leaving our cart and all. He was in shock that I did that--needless to say, he does not even test those waters!

I have never said that the child who attacked the mother at Wal Mart was cute and from what I see on the other comments no one here does. I do agree that is not right in any way and yes mom should have never allowed it. What I would have done is take the little one home and find someone to watch her while I finish shopping. Like mcfar73 said I would think she was in shock and embarrassed. I don't know. I have no idea about the whole story. So I do not pass judgment.

Mamakat,

Unavoidable accidents and blatant rudeness are two different things. I got a beating one day because me and my cousing broke a glass table - not because we broke the glass table, but because we were expressly told to not play in the house.

There's a difference.

I'm really wondering exactly how good of a parent is when this person has missed the point of the article... Its about how your children ACCIDENTALLY hurt you. The woman writing the articleartile is saying that her child accidentally hurt her while throwing a tantrum. I am sure a three year old doesn't thing 'gee if i just gouge out mommy's skin she will let me keep the earrings." The child had a tantrum, was told no and removed from the store when the tantrum didn't stop. That is great parenting.

It seems to me that the negative off topic comments about that one segment of the story was just to Troll for responses. I would rather be the daughter of the author than someone who starts arguements for the sake of arguments anyday.

Hey mmm12, maybe you have really good tempered kids. I have two, one who threw tantrum after tantrum, literally, and the other who would never even think of throwing a tantrum. I'm not claiming to be the perfect parent, but seeing that I have two completely opposite daughters out of the deal, it's not always the parenting. It has to be biological (because that tantrum stuff did NOT come from my side of the family!) Growing up my mom had us kids in check, but when she couldn't even controll her and she made the statement that "God blessed her with good kids!" I knew it couldn't have all been me. Now that we're past that stage parenting is fun again.

My daughters are now 8 and 9 and almost as big as I am. When they get excited, I STILL get injured and I get, "Did that hurt mommy? I'm sorry!" all the time. Their dad gets it worse than I do, he gets pounced all the time!

You know I'm not sure why Z Ro is posting all of these comments. They said that they don't have kids and don't want kids. So they obviously have no experience with this. My 1 yr old has given me bruises and split lips. She's also pulled my hair, scratched me, and bit me. And it's not that I'm a weak parent. I refuse to beat my daughter when she is still trying to learn how to do thing and when she doesn't understand that what she does hurts. It's not intentional. Kids that young aren't in complete control of their body and they don't realize what they are doing. My daughter spazzes out when she see her favorite toys or if her daddy walks in from work and if I'm holding her I usually get wacked. Should I beat the hell out of her for missing her father? Or for seeing something that makes her happy? If that's how you're supposed to be a "strong" parent then I'd rather be a "weak" one.

OMG, read my posts again and again, and maybe again. My little darlings NEVER, EVER attacked me out of anger. Not only am I the boss, but I'm the parent. Too bad that you settle for being their friend.

mmm12 I'd say you're children are the exception and not the rule. ALL kids get excited when they're little while playing....as long as they're having fun!

mmm12, we're not talking about attacks from anger. Originally, anyway. It's morphed into that subject tho. Accidents are different than power struggles--If you've never been the recipient of an accidental happening, more power to you. I have control over my son also, I am his mother, but I don't have to tell him who is the boss and he's not afraid of me. He just knows that I'm very consistent and knows what to expect--be it a spanking, losing privileges, etc...I'm not saying I'm a perfect parent, no one is. I do agree with you that the angry outbursts from kids and the resulting injuries are NOT cute in anyway, and I can't believe they've been posted with pride.

Hey M&M, maybe you should re-re-re-read her post and the article too. Noone's talking about allowing this behavior because they want to be friends with their children. Your hyper judgmentalism is soooo annoying. Don't you belong on the I'm so damn superior thread. Get over your smug self and let the rest of us have a moment here. GEEEEZE!

That happened to me too. My son got his first tooth at 3 months. I wasn't expecting it,since his older sister got her first at 8 months, and so I wasn't checking for teeth. So he got this tooth and quite innocently bit down when he was nursing -- it had nothing to do with intention to hurt, all this tiny baby was doing was exactly the same nursing motion of the mouth that is required to get milk out, the difference being only that there was one of those super-sharp little razor-like new teeth in the way. He bit so deep he drew blood, and my shocked reaction was to scream (it must have hurt his ears!) and drop him on the sofa pillow that I was holding him on, on my lap. It took time for the nipple to heal, but sadly enough my milk dried up overnight and I was never able to nurse him again. My daughter at the age when babies are attracted by bright shiny things pulled on her grandmother's earring. Luckily the clasp opened and so the ear wasn't cut or harmed, but we had to move quickly to keep the baby from swallowing the earring! Mmm3, I am a grandmother of many years' experience and I can tell you that almost every case of injury caused by a baby or toddler is due to pure accident and not to lax parenting. Sure, you can bully a baby or child into passivity, and you may get a silent and untroublesome baby but you better be ready to pay the therapist bills when they're a teenager with big problems. Healthy babies are active, and active babies without developed muscle control can cause accidents and it's nobody's fault.

Playing with our 18 month old daughter, my husband raised her above our heads as we laid on the floor. She didn't like that much and threw her precious melon head my way. Broke my nose. Lost a nasal passage and had septopasty surgery. She is now the sweetest 10 year old young lady and loves to tell the story about how she broke Mom's nose as a baby.

Ow 4Dawn! I've been headbutted many times by my boys when they were tiny, but nothing like that! Worst was when my then 3 year old did it when he was tired and trying to put his head on my shoulder. It bled at first and then hurt for weeks when I touched it, but again nothing like what you describe. My sympathies.