If you look at the railings, it looks very hard for a small child to fall over, let alone an adult and why would a little child want to try to climb over and when he knows he will fall down and hurt himself ? Its not as though he is trying to get into a swimming pool to play with the water
In my experience with a very hyperactive boy I can see how it would have happened. Before 1yo my boy learnt to climb out of his cot and the first I knew of this was when I heard a loud thump and him crying. Gave me the fright of my life. At 3yo I am absolutely sure he could have climbed that. In fact, it is perfect for climbing. Look at the structure of the railing - the bottom rung would be a foothold then he could have pulled himself up over the top. Small children have much more arm-strength to body weight ratio which is evolutionary (primates clinging on to mothers and tree branches). Also 3yo don't think logically or think of consequences. They can't, as their frontal lobes (responsible for executive functioning which includes things like assessing consequences) are still very immature. In fact, the areas of the frontal lobes involved in assessing consequences does not stop developing until well into the 20s, especially in males (explains a lot doesn't it
!. He would have had no idea that he could fall. All he would have known is that it looked fun to climb - and perhaps he was looking out for "Daddy" to come home too!
My very impulsive son with ADHD ALWAYS had bruises all over him at that preschool age as he was never still, always running into things, falling over, climbing things. At the time, I remember being very worried that someone would report us for child abuse! In contrast, my other son was rarely, if ever bruised. He is much more cautious, thinks things through more, much less impulsive.
However, in my experience "mandatory reporters" (ie people mandated by law to report any suspected child abuse including medical professionals, social workers, teachers, psychologists etc etc) are usually taught to be on the lookout for certain patterns of bruising which are more suspicious.
More than just a bruise: Recognizing child physical abuse | British Columbia Medical Journal
"Distinguishing accidental from inflicted trauma requires recognizing injuries that suggest abuse: bruises on soft parts of the body such as the ears or neck, patterned or clustered bruises, bruises that are not consistent with the mechanism of injury reported, and bruises that are not consistent with a child’s developmental level."
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...QQBQ&usg=AOvVaw1A4DDfOiL_aax6pk8l4oGl&cf=1
"Examples of suspicious bruises can include: Bruising on babies or children who are not independently mobile. Bruising in clusters, that occur multiple times in similar shapes and sizes. Bruising on areas of the body such as the
torso, ears, neck, eyes, cheeks and buttocks.17 Apr 2020"
That said, my son had a bruise on his cheek once from falling/tripping and hitting face on a coffee table once. I am not sure about a child having a bruised eye though.... a paediatrician or Emergency Physician at a kids hospital would be familiar if that was suspicious or not.
