DETROIT – It started as a simple bedtime story of "Pat the Bunny."
It ended with an emergency trip to the eye doctor.
One minute I was reading a classic story with my toddler, the next I was seeing stars after she grabbed the book in excitement and accidentally stabbed me in the eye with the corner.
Turns out the corner of "Pat the Bunny" isn't nearly as soft as the bunny. It took a full year of seeing spots on my right side for the damage to eventually heal. Who knew I needed safety glasses for story time? Is there a parenting Purple Heart for this sort of thing?
These are the perils of parenting that no one warns you about, but as I've discovered, I am far from alone in being injured by seemingly innocuous toys.
In a new article on thestir.cafemom.com titled "7 Children's Toys that Are the Worst to Accidentally Step On, Ranked in Order," author Linda Sharps details her painful encounters with assorted toys.
Topping her list, a pink metal jack left on the bathmat while she was showering. That scored a 10 on her "level of suck" scale.
Stepping on a Lego scored a 7. My informal poll suggests that may be too low. As many parents pointed out, Legos are especially painful to step on because they immediately become imbedded in your foot. Add to that the fact that most children seem to own about four million of the things, and it's basically just a recipe for disaster.
Monster truck-type vehicles rated a 6. Not as painful, but of course there is always the potential to hit it just right and go careening down the hallway before crashing to the floor. Stepping on a Magic marker scored a 9 on the "level of suck" because of that rolling potential.
Sharps gave stepping a plastic snake an 8. Not only is it painful, but there's that nanosecond when you actually think it's a snake.
Hexabug Warrior Battling Robots earned a 4 for their hard plastic, pointy edges and angry buzzing response. Why are they so angry? You're the one with the aching foot.
Stepping on a stuffed animal was rated as a 3 on Sharps' scale. Yes, they're soft, but if you think you're stepping on the family pet, your instinct is to immediately throw your weight in another direction to avoid further injury to poor Fluffy or Fido. Been there. Done that.
So what's the worst toy you've ever stepped on? Ever ended up at the doctor because of a toy? Share your battle story here! And if you need a recommendation for some safety glasses, let me know...