Accident Prone Child....

[KingstonMom]

I have a 2.5 yr old dcb in my care for about a year now.
He is (and always has been) very accident prone. On almost every walk we take, he trips on his own feet, he never runs with the other kids and seems very uneasy on his feet in general. Always is leaning on stuff so Im not sure if this has something to do with his poor balance.
He will often walk into a corner, by misjudging its proximeity or something, Im not really sure why. He often slips, and trips on his own while playing. This is the only child who has had so many cuts, bruises etc from hurting himself.
He does not do this at home, so Im not sure if mom and dad are always a foot away from him catching him, but I am starting to feel sooo guilty explaining his boo-boos almost everyday!! This is group care, and kids will play together, and I am NOT going to be holding his hand all day, Im sure the parents understand this, but any ideas on how to lessen the rate of injury for this sweet little boy?

TIA, :)

[Crayola kiddies]

Have his eyes checked

[KingstonMom]

ya think? hmm
I kinda thought it had to do with his balance, or un-easyness on his feet due to being carried alot etc or maybe hes just plain clumsy?

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup check the eyes and ears was my first gut reaction too.

[Momof4]

Could he have an inner ear problem, like chronic ear infections? That's the part of the body that controls our balance. Maybe get the parents to get that checked.

[KingstonMom]

Would this be a reason why a child would always LEAN on things? Like, ALWAYS. If he is not sitting or laying on the floor, he is leaning on a bench, a table, a wall. Never stands on his own two feet unsupported.

[Inspired by Reggio]

If he has vertigo or some other inner ear issue sure ...if his vison is impaired causing him to lack dept perception touching or leaning is a coping mechanism too :(

[mimi]

The natural tendency is to lean on something when your vision is blurred or balance is impaired. I agree with the above poster, the little guy needs to be checked by a physician.

[KingstonMom]

Thanks for the input ladies, these are things I never thought of b4.

[Crayola kiddies]

Yes I thought ears too (but I had already hit post on my previous reply and was in a hurry) if he has fluid in his ears or any kind of problem it could throw off his equilibrium. But I would go with eyes first cause if it was his ears he'd likely complain of some kind of pain but with the eyes he would never know the difference.

[playfelt]

Do the parents carry him because he is so clumsy and are really in denial. If child refuses to move at home they just pick him up. They have been doing it since he was a baby and old habits are hard to break in that they are forgetting that it is not natural at this age to carry them everywhere. It might be good to have a thorough physical by a developmental pediatrian.

[Mamma_Mia]

ear infections can make you off balanced. My daughter we found out this year has very low vision in her right eye and that makes sence re: her tripping, hitting walls etc.

BUT

Also he can just be clumsy LOL my cousin who's 25now at a 3-8age would be sitting on a chair and just fall off! lol She to this day can not 'run' up the stairs without tripping, she yells out "im ok" and we laugh. She spills cups at dinner, drops things, knock things over, even walking stumbles LOL She had very curly hair so as a child we called her "curley sue" (the little girl in the movie was the same way!)