Bruises on children

[sunnydays]

Is this a log you keep for yourself or send back and forth with the parents? I don't do logbooks currently, but I do send a nightly email to parents and extra emails for anything like an injury. This incident was so insignificant that I did not even mention it to the parents...I am not even sure if that is how he got bruised. Do you log every small incident that takes place? I will do what I have to do to protect myself, but just trying to see what makes the most sense.

This is why we are encouraged to keep attendance sheets and daily logs. It can show a pattern of clumsiness, when the child is ill (which could be one reason he didn't want to go to your house today) maybe he didn't sleep well, the list goes on. Our daily observations can sometimes be our lifeline. Document, document, document.

[playfelt]

You have two options:
1) Say nothing, hope the parent doesn`t bring it up again and then tread on eggshells for awhile till everyone relaxes or
2) Come right out and tell the mom that you felt bad about the bruise and spoke with some experienced providers during naptime and was told that it is very common for a toddler to get a bruise on the bottom from little falls if they land on a block or whatever. Then you be able to guage if the parent sort of passes it off or wants to keep going on about it. It also lets the parent know that you don't hold it against them cause it could happen at home on a toy too.

I am assuming the bruise is more the top of the leg where the elastic is supposed to be and not right across the bottom which would take a pretty big wallop to make any kind of bruise through a diaper be it block, hand or other.