Daughters clumsiness worries me

[lovecloud]

Hi

Im worried about my 3yr olds clumsiness.

She falls and bumps into thing constantly.

Her legs are so bruised all the time.

She walks and runs well and is very active, I try to encourage her to walk as much as possible, take her to the park every day etc. She looks steady on her feet but is so clumsy - obviously I never say anything to her about it.

All her friends have their shorts and skirts on and noticed that all their legs are clear and some have a few bruises and grazes but my daughter looks like she is abused.

I am worried that this could be a symptom for something serious or that she is lacking something in her diet as she is not a great eater like alot of kids her age.

I would love to hear what you all think - am I being over the top?

[misdee]

my dd2 is also 3 years old and extremely clumsy. she was seen by physio last yuear and she has low muscle tone. she has a hearing check next week as well.

[beckybrastraps]

My ds is 4, dd 2 and their legs are always bruised. As are mine! I am extremely clumsy. I was taken for "tests" when younger (my mum can't remember the details), but they decided I was just clumsy, and sadly my children seem to be too.

Clumsiness is associated with some conditions, and of course if you are worried you should get it checked out (like my mum), but it isn't necessarily a sign of anything terrible.

Could you speak to your HV maybe?

[tallmummy]

You are not being OTT lovecloud. Clumsiness can sometimes be associated with dyspraxia but I think that's quite extreme. My 2 eldest dss are always covered in bruises - when they stand on the side of the pool at their swimming lesson I cringe - other children don't seem as black and blue. They aren't particularly clumsy - just a bit hyper and get into a lot of bike and tree incidents in the garden!

Sometimes children this age are just so excited at the increased independence of being out of the pushchair and up and about. I remember ds1,2 and 3 all went through a stage of ploughing there way through the toys and obstacles in a room or garden, falling and bashing as they went, when something had caught their attention on the otherside.

Like BBS says your HV can probably give you some good advice.

[WellKnownMemorablePeachyClair]

have a look dyspraxia foundation to see if it fits your daughter. It amy well be just a phase, but if it does seem to fit consider getting her referred by the GP for an assessment. Assessments can take years to complete, so early is better.

[PinkTulips]

i've been extremely clumsy all my life, so much so that my parents were investigated for abuse when i was little as i was in a&e for so many wierd and wonderful injuries.

unfortunately some people are just accident prone, i am and unfortuately it seems to be genetic and my dd is definitely showing signs of the same... today alone she's fallen flat on her face 10+ times, gotten stuck between a chair and a wall and bumped her head and slammed a door on her fingers.

i doubt it's anything medical but prepare to spend alot of time in a&e with sprained and broken body parts and cuts all over.. sorry!

[singersgirl]

My boys are always covered in bruises and so was I. They are quite clumsy, but also just into everything - and they always seem to have more bruises than anyone else. If your daughter seems quite co-ordinated, I wouldn't worry. But, as someone else has posted, check to see if you think she could be dyspraxic. Both my sons have some signs of dyspraxia (different signs in each boy), but teachers/GPs think they are fine.

[eenywifemum]

I am sure it is just normal clumsiness... but I have a thing where my joints are overly flexible so I sprain things often & easily - you know I twist my ankle... I've even sprained my wrist brushing my hair!! This doesnt sound like sprains but I thought I would mention it. What I have isnt serious, just annoying! I hope this resolves itself for your DD.

[biglips]

My 7 yrs old SD used to be very clumsy - VERY and i used to tell her off for not looking where she is going.. it all seems to stopped when she turned 6

[edam]

I've usually got a collection of bruises too - find it very hard to judge what space my body is occupying so always banging into door frames/knocking my elbow on things/stubbing my toes. And ds is showing signs of going the same way - has a much livelier pattern of scrapes, grazes and bruises than his friends. Am keeping my fingers crossed it is just normal small boy off exploring the world stuff.

I could never understand how other people managed to work out, for instance, where a tennis ball would be, exactly, given there were so man potential places it could be. Once turned round to my mum and said 'I'm sooo clumsy, don't know where I get it from' just as she dropped a pan full of bolognese all over the floor!

Sorry, that's lots of rambling, but vague point is get it checked out if you are concerned but don't worry too much, being clumsy is not unusual, or necessarily permanent, and even if it was, it doesn't have to be a huge problem.