Physical Wellness

Accidental Head Bumps Can Affect Parent-Child Relationships

By Brian McNeill | Update Date: Apr 20, 2016 06:42 AM EDT

Children would normally suffer some sort of head bump, a result of their energetic and rowdy nature that cannot be totally avoided.

When a child hits his head, parents will at times panic seeing how sensitive that area is and the effects it could have. That could include hemorrhage or internal bleeding, an occurrence that anyone would like to rule out.

Depending on the nature of the bump, doctors would normally advise X-rays or CT scans to make sure that the head bump has not caused anything internally. But on the psychological aspect of things, there could be potential changes on the horizon which touches on the parent-child relationship.

The child’s brain is in focus here, known to be at the developmental stages. Tied up with that are the potential changes in mood and behavior of children which could at some point show in the course of their growth.

But the obvious issue here is the relationship factor. The changes in a child’s behavior may vary but could eventually become harder to understand as they grow up.

A study published at the Journal of Neuropsychology tackles on the issue though it is not something meant to raise the alarm on parents and their kids. The study involved children aged 5 to 18 years old who had experiences with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by accidental bumps or falls that included the head area.

TBI has been found to affect 2 in 100 children annually though there are other external factors to consider. This includes the child’s head in relation to his body size which could play a role in determining the severity of the head bump.

It should also be noted that there are some factors to consider before panicking on possible impaired development and poor social interaction due to the limitations involved in the study. That includes lack of observations and assessment, key differences in the interaction between parents and their children and the number of participants to the study.

Either way, the best route is to seek the advice of a specialist for the proper assessment of the child in mention. This way, parents will eventually have lesser things to worry about especially if their child had been into such mild traumatic head injury cases in the past.

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics