I feel like the worst Grandfather

[emiller]

I went camping in San Diego this past week with another teardrop family, my daughter decided to go to San Diego to meet us so she could take my 5 year old granddaughter to Sea World and we would baby sit our one year old at the camp ground. Well my daughter put my one year old granddaughter in the tear to take a nap but 2 minutes later my granddaughter had open the door and fell head first to the pavement smacking her little forehead and upper lip where she was bleeding. I felt the life get sucked out of me. She seams to be doing fine but looks like she was beat up. My daughter who already hates camping is not going to allow us to take our one year old camping again until she is allot older. I should have known better, that the door handles just need to be pushed down to open. If you put a small child in your tear make sure you lock the doors so they don't open. Boy what a hard lesson to learn.

[Mightydog]

Our 28-year-old daughter has two scars on her forehead from an accident when I was looking after her. She was about three at the time. I remember looking at them on her wedding day as we were about to walk down the isle together. She's long since forgotten about them.

Don't beat yourself up. You now have a little more experience about kids and TD's. In the mean time, don't try to change your daughter's mind about camping--some people's minds can't be changed, they need to come around on their own.

It's good no one was hurt. Now, let yourself off the hook Grandpa.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Accidents happen!

I took the girlfriend and her 2y.o. son camping this past weekend and he sleeps up on the shelf next to the beagle. Well when he woke up in the morning, he tried to stand up and nailed his little head on the roof spars above him. He also walked right into the tailgate of someones truck while chasing a ball.

I think I'm gonna get him a helmet to wear until he's 5 or so.

[eaglesdare]

oh goodness yes, let yourself off the hook. kids ARE going to get the "beat" up look. if its not from falling out of a td, it from not watcihng where they are running (right into the corner of a table), or falling down or up the cement steps. any number of things will happen to these little people. gosh i can't count the number of times the kids here have had that beat up look.

i remember one time i almost had an investigation done. my grandson went to school one time with a black eye. he was in kindergarden. the teachers at school asked him how it happened. he told them his uncle did it and his uncle beats him up all the time. well they brought in another teacher who happens to know us well, a personal friend. she said there was no uncle that lived with us and that she knows no one like an uncle in our family. so she starts to head back to her class, when it dawns on her who the uncle is. its his uncle alright, but he is only 1 yr older than the grandson and he is only in the first grade!

[eaglesdare]

Accidents happen!

I took the girlfriend and her 2y.o. son camping this past weekend and he sleeps up on the shelf next to the beagle. Well when he woke up in the morning, he tried to stand up and nailed his little head on the roof spars above him. He also walked right into the tailgate of someones truck while chasing a ball.

I think I'm gonna get him a helmet to wear until he's 5 or so.

hey zach, it doesn't stop at 5!

[Redgloves]

You are a good grandfather. You were willing to be responsible for a grandchild while camping!

Children fall all the time, this will not be the first fall nor the last fall for your grandchild or anybodies child. Cherish the memory.

[dh]

Don't feel bad, I've seen grandfathers that would have yelled at the child. It happens. Heck, I'm 30 and still have ''helmet''' moments.

[2bits]

Hey the kid is one year old. Keep this moment in stock for when something happens in their care to politely mention how the unexpected can happen and you can't (and shouldn't) make it through life in a bubble. You are good for taking responsibility for not thinking of it ahead of time, but that's half the fun of visiting relatives, is because they don't shelter you as much as mom and dad.