Sounds Parents Dread

Ok, I can't be the only one that has a list. Generally speaking the quieter kids are, the more danger there is- HOWEVER I have run across two sounds that as a non-parent would be par for the course, and as a parent strike fear into my heart.

The sound of water splashing in the bathroom. This is only exascerbated by the fact that the only water in the bathroom to splash in is in the toilet. (He had the plunger, and was "plunging" the toilet)

The other- is the sound of scissors opening and closing. I don't think i've moved as fast as I did when I heard that noise and realized the only possible solution was he had SOMEHOW gotten the kitchen shears. I'm beginning to think this child was bitten by a radioactive spider.

Anyone else?

Anything involving "THUMP" qualifies.

stroker wrote: Anything involving "THUMP" qualifies.

I tend to worry more depending on the pitch of the scream that comes out AFTER the thump.

Our first kid learned to crawl in a ranch house, and then we moved to a house with stairs. One day my wife and I were doing something in the living room when without warning I bolted to the foot of the stairs, just in time to catch the baby sliding headfirst down the stairs on her back, headed for the tile floor.

Neither of us had consciously heard anything at all. To this day, I don't know what made my subconscious know that I needed to MOVE RIGHT NOW.

mndsm wrote:

stroker wrote: Anything involving "THUMP" qualifies.

I tend to worry more depending on the pitch of the scream that comes out AFTER the thump.

The WORST thing after "THUMP" is silence, not the scream.

Yeah, a scream can be oddly reassuring: children in comas can't scream. There are other silences parents dread, too, such as the ones emanating from formerly happy, noisy playrooms.

lack of noise = trouble

Thumps, thuds and WHACKS are generally not good but I agree on the pitch and volume of the screams following as a good indicator of seriousness.

We seem to develop a spidey sense about saving their necks just in time.

Actually, most serious issues involve silence. The noise I hated the most was generally something like, "Blurrgghh"..splash.

As an aside, how do kids know to puke when their parents have been out late?

Streetwiseguy wrote: Actually, most serious issues involve silence. The noise I hated the most was generally something like, "Blurrgghh"..splash. As an aside, how do kids know to puke when their parents have been out late?

My kids first real puking episode was at about 2am. Wife shakes me.. "Tom, TOM! He's puking everywhere!" Me being a guy and a veteran drunk chaperone went on autopilot. "What the hell do you want me to do about it? Here's a towel, here's clean PJ's i'm goin back to sleep". SWMBO was EXTREMELY mad at me for that one. The worst for me isn't vomit, it's when he would do a poo and somehow get it over every inch of skin inside his onesie.

Gagging sounds, because you know what comes next.

The worst was when my son, age 3, found a knife I'd dropped in the kitchen. It wasn't a particularly sharp one, more of the table knife type. Problem being, he'd been eating red hots prior before that and his hands were covered with red goo. So I get presented with a small kid, with a red hand handing me a knife. I thought for sure he'd sliced his hand open until I realized what had happened.

Yeah, like others when I hear a thump I'm listening for the noise that comes next. A scream at that point is wonderful.
When my daughter was first learning to walk we were walking towards the basement stairs. She got there a split second before me and just stepped into oblivion. The stairway was dark and she tumbled, head-over-heels into the darkness. I just heard THUMP.....THUMP.......WHACKTHUMP.....THUMP. I turned the lights on as I ran down stairs and she was laying on her belly, no movement, no noise, nothing. Holy crap did I ever make it down those stairs fast, not sure if I touched one. When I got there she looked at me and said "Daddy, me fell down" then started screaming like a banshee. I never was happier to hear a kid screaming. She had a broken finger, and lots of bumps and bruises. That's it!

But yeah, every other one here has send me running, the splashing water in the bathroom, the sizzors, thumps, crashes, all of it. The joys of parenthood.

Paper shredder.

I heard it going off one time and as I run to the room where its at, the 4 year old came out like nothing happened. To this day I am not sure what he put through it ... Shredder is out of reach now.

One of the most memorable was the youngest going down the stairs with a full box of Legos onto a tile floor.

The absolute worst sound is a head hitting concrete. That was the middle son getting run over by a dog. He cut a flip and hit the sidewalk forehead first with a meaty thunk. It's a very distinctive sound I hope I never hear again. He looked like he had a golf ball under his skin.

I agree with the already mentioned biggies: That ominous, meaty Chunk when a head meets a hard object; silence, especially following one of those thunks; and that wet, nearly silent retching followed by a splash.

My youngest graduates high school a week from today, and would you believe I kind of miss these symphonies of terror from bygone days?

Margie

In reply to Marjorie Suddard:

They'll be back when the grand kids show up.

Best part is, when you hear that retching splash the only thing you need to worry about is the carpet.

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Marjorie Suddard: They'll be back when the grand kids show up.

^Truth^ I'm currently going through Baby-proofing the house again. SWMBO is daycare for out 11-month old grandson. He's starting to get into everything. Plus my son with his 3-yo son and 2-yo daughter visit on holidays. Makes for a full house and lots of excitement chasing little ones around.

I don't have a kid, but just reading this is making my blood pressure rise.

Worst sound I heard was my oldest. Mom just had dinner ready and he was just old enough to run. Tripped on the way into the kitchen and caught the corner bead of the wall right in the forehead.

Off to the hospital!

I found the sound of water running in the basement when she was 2 stories upstairs disturbing.

It's amazing what can be done by a 3 1/2 year old with half a roll of toilet paper and a tap on full, within just a few minutes.

Hardcore punk or pre-black album Metallica. Those are sounds parents fear.

No, none of those are the worst sounds you'll ever hear. The worst is "Hi mom, I decided to become a juggalo." Nothing tops that. That sentence will likely be the last coherent thing you'll hear them say until you show them how magnets work. berkeleying miracles.

Appleseed wrote: Hardcore punk or pre-black album Metallica. Those are sounds parents fear.

Hardcore punk or pre-black album Metallica? I... i'd prefer that, actually. We listen to a random mix of metalcore, punk and rap music in my car.... Now if it was Toby Keith, I'm liable to set the car on fire.....

As far as the juggalo thing, that made my skin crawl just thinking about it.

mndsm wrote:

Appleseed wrote: Hardcore punk or pre-black album Metallica. Those are sounds parents fear.

Hardcore punk or pre-black album Metallica? I... i'd prefer that, actually. We listen to a random mix of metalcore, punk and rap music in my car.... Now if it was Toby Keith, I'm liable to set the car on fire..... As far as the juggalo thing, that made my skin crawl just thinking about it.

My son doesn't mind country. Then again, between my wife and I they've been exposed to everything under the sun musically. They're both in band in school, so...

I forgot the time I heard the heavy sliding door being slammed shut ... And then non-stop crying. The older one got the middle one's fingers stuck, he was around 1 then. The door was completely shut and I honestly thought the worst. I opened and the fingers were swollen but no blood, we spent all night at the ER making sure there were no broken bones. Nothing happened.

I cringe when I hear that door slammed closed now.

All these posts and nothing about glass breaking from another room? When she was three, my daughter fell off the toilet seat when washing her hands. Head first thru the plate glass door on the medicine cabinet. Freaked me the berk out, but not a scratch on her.

It's been five years, haven't replaced the glass yet. Will do it when #2 is a little older.