Help me reconcile some feelings

Let me add: The mother gave my son ice wrapped in a towel, so she saw his injury and still did not accompany him. That is the thing I am most upset about. Well, that and allowing the 7-year-old to hit golf balls unaccompanied -- especially with younger kids around.

But, overall, yeah, it was an accident. Just trying to, as the thread title says, reconcile some emotions.

 

Encourage your son to ask the girls to play at your house. Parents who are that indifferent to what their kids are up to will have more incidents than that at their house.

 

Yes ! That house sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Next year it will be a BB gun. I would not let your kid go back to that house.

 

Someone should have walked your kid home.

My oldest split his head open a couple weeks ago. I wanted to kill my brother-in-law because he was playing with them in an area where we told them not to. My kid fell back and went into the side of a coffee table. I wanted to fucking kill him. Is that rational? Of course not. It's still how I felt as I was driving to the ER. After a few staples, my wife and I were laughing about it.

When I was a kid, my next door neighbor and best friend broke his arm and collar bone while playing at my house. I busted my chin open playing at his house, but my parents took care of him when he got hurt and they did the same when I got hurt.

Accidents happen, especially to kids, but someone should have walked him home.

 

Of all my various childhood accidents, of which there were many, I don't recall ever having to escorted home from any of them. Either they occurred at home or, in at least two instances, I had to be transported immediately to the hospital. I don't know how many times I cracked my head open. Really, I don't. Four is my best guess.

 

I got hit in the head with a shovel (SHUT UP BYH) when I was 5. It was the house around the corner. I just ran home. No one escorted me. My mom was not pleased.

I also got hit in the jaw with a golf club when I was 9 because my 4-year-old brother didn't realize you don't do a full backswing when playing putt-putt.

 

OK, was the kid swinging away with dad's 7-iron, or does he have a set of kid's clubs? Some of the responses make it seem like people think the kid was winging golf balls at high velocity. I've seen kids who can do that, but all too often, esp. if they're playing around in a lot next to their house, it's more likely they're barely catching the ball. My son used to have a set of clubs he'd play with in our backyard, and I'd leave him alone at times but he knew if I wasn't out there, he could only use the wiffle balls that don't go anywhere and don't hurt even if you do hit them good.

And the kid may have been careful and your kid walked too close. Just saying.

Are you sure the parents knew before the other kids brought your son home? I've known plenty of times where kids take it upon themselves to take an injured friend home in the hopes their own parent doesn't find out or because they just want to get the other kid to his own parents ASAP. Did the parents send them home after finding out, or did the two kids take your son home while the other went in to tell their mom?

If they knew and didn't walk him over or call you to come get him, that's not very cool. I'd be hesitant to have my kid playing over there because of that. Like someone else suggested, invite the girls to your house instead.

 

I wouldn't overreact. It was an accident, after all. I wouldn't ban him from going over there, but I'd probably encourage him to play at your house more often. Sounds like the parents are a little lax. I would think the parents should have accompanied him home, but at least someone did ... parents were probably nervous about how you'd react. Not saying it's right, but they probably felt guilty/bad about it.

FWIW, I hit my sister in the eye with an aluminum bat on my back swing once, and I also got a fish hook stuck in my lower eyelid at a friend's house when I was about 5. I was swinging it around my head like a lasso, if you must know. Just rode my bike home holding onto the fishing line and had mom take it out. Also stepped on a sewing needle, and somehow it went into my big toe on the edge of the nail, with the red thread hanging out. Screamed so much as my mom tried to pull it out that my sisters had to leave the house.

Now, I hope you all got a good cringe or two out of that.

Edit to add that JRoyal is on the money.

 

Agreed. We had a neighbor like that. They had a girl my daughter's age. They were classmates one year. The mother was an idiot and the father wasn't around. On at least three occasions nobody bothered to meet their kid at the bus stop. I brought her home each time. That was just one example of how irresponsible this mother was.

My daughter was constantly begging us to let her play there, but we wouldn't allow it. We were thrilled when they moved away.

 

Yep. Boys being boys; that's why God made them able to heal.

 

You have every right to be pissed that the mother didn't bother to walk your son home, tell you it was an accident and make sure he was comforted.

Unless my wife talked me out of it, I'd probably go over there, and say something.
In your case, I might say that you understand it was an accident and accidents happen, but in the future if your son gets hurt in an accident at their house could one of them walk him home and let you know what happened.
Based on the reaction to that would determine whether or not I'd let my son play there again. But like others I'd probably insist that he start inviting the girls over to your house.

 

Ugh, the mom sounds like a super douche.

It sounds like a complete accident. The mom really needs to be keeping a better eye on the kids. Maybe you should have more playdates at your house.

Oh, and if that doesn't work, have your wife go over there and hit her with a golf club. See how she likes it. You could show her the courtesy of driving her to the ER.