Last night was eventful. I was sitting in our office beginning to get some school work done when I heard a large bang in the other room. I thought about going out to see what was going on, but I had just finished telling Brooklynne to pretend I wasn't there, so I decided to let her handle it. A minute later I heard some foot step heading to the bathroom and the water turn on... and then... "MILES!!!!!"

I jumped up and ran into the bathroom where I saw Halleigh standing there with her dress soaked in blood and more blood dripping from her hair. Brooke was staying mostly calm, but she didn't know where the blood was coming from and she was scared to look. So I checked Halleigh's body--no cuts or punctures--and then I pulled up her hair and found a deep gash on the back of her head about the length and width of the end section of my index finger.

So we got a cloth and pressed it to the back of her head, and we stripped off her bloody clothes and tried to wipe the blood off a little before dressing her again in a dress that she had out grown (no need to ruin two sets of usable clothes). Then we drove to urgent care with Brooklynne in the back, holding the damp cloth on Halleigh's head.

We got immediate attention at the clinic. At first there was a question about whether we would have to go to the emergency room, but the doctors at the clinic said they would try to close the wound, and if Halleigh would be still enough to put in some staples without sedation, we could avoid the hospital. Halleigh and Brooklynne (who was holding and comforting her) were both troopers. I was tasked with holding back Halleigh's hair so the doctor had both hands free to work the staple gun. That was pretty interesting to watch. Halleigh was very well behaved, so before long, we were on our way home with 4 staples in the back of Halleigh's head.

We took some post-trauma pictures, but I didn't get them uploaded last night, so I hope Brooklynne will post them over on her blog sometime today. If not, look for a picture to be posted here tomorrow.

Atfer this adventure, I've been thinking about me and Brooklynne's somewhat hands-off parenting philosophy. I think our friends are sometimes shocked by how little we protect Halleigh, and the self-conscious side of me is nervous that we will be judged for allowing our child to put herself in harms way (she was climbing on a chair when she fell, which is a no-no, although we don't strickly enforce a total no-climb policy). I wondered if we should crack down on the daredevil proclivities of our daughter.

But our choice in parenting strategy is intentional, and not a product of inattention, so I still feel good about what we allow and don't allow, we just need to be very aware of what Halleigh is doing at all times. An article I saw on CNN this morning sums up my feelings pretty well.

"Much after-dinner wrestling here," reports Michelle Mayr, the Davis, California, mom of four boys, ages 5 to 12. "I'm constantly fighting to keep my house a home rather than an indoor sports center. Their stuffed animals' primary function is to be added to the pile of pillows everyone is launching into from the coffee table."

In general, boys are more rambunctious and aggressive, experts say. Taking risks lights up the pleasure centers of their brains. Many parents find they have to keep a closer eye on what a son is "getting into," or use more bandages.

But letting kids explore -- at the cost of a few scrapes and cuts -- builds character, self-confidence, resilience, and self-reliance, says Wendy Mogel, Ph.D., author of "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee." Boys, being natural risk takers, may need encouragement to slow down a little, but maybe girls need to be encouraged to take more risks. Look for opportunities for your daughter to jump off a wall, swim in the deep end, or try the bigger slide.  (clipped from this article)

I'm not advocating letting a child harm themselves, but I think you have to give them some room to test their limits. That's why I probably won't shift to a more protective style. I want to have an empowered daughter. That is very important to me. Thoughts?

**Update: Brooklynne posted a couple pictures at IMR. Warning though--they're gross.**