Question: Hi doctor, my 2 year old son had a head bump yesterday, and his after behavior a bit concerned me. He was jumping on a trampoline in the park, and bumped his side of head on the edge which is made of very thick solid wood. The edge was padded (but I can still feel the wood under the pad), so I was not expecting him to be too upset from that bump. But his reaction is out of my expectation and there are a few things made me worry. First, he didn't cry immediately. He looked surprised at first and started to cry after 2 seconds. He cried hard for a few minutes. I tried to comfort him and encourage him to jump again. He tried, but every time he jumped a little bit and started to cry again. So, it made me feel that he was really bothered by the head bump. That's not like him. He usually doesn't cry hard and goes back to play immediately after a little bump. And even after he stopped crying, he seemed unhappy and tired for a while. It takes him 20 minutes to go back to his normal happy mood. And he is fine since then. I should say I am not expecting his reaction like this since the edge of trampoline is padded. But his reaction made me worry. Does it sounds like a minor concussion? He is absolutely fine after the initial 20 minutes, no vomits, no other signs. But I just cannot help to think that way, and will appreciate your expert's opinion. Thank you.

Dr XXXXXXX Kini,

Thank you. I agree an ER trip would be too extreme. I just hate the thought about a minor concussion and the affect to his brain. I think during the initial 20 minutes after the bump, he was kind of irritable, and lost his interest in the trampoline which he loved before. But he has been absolutely fine after that. And the surface he bumped his head on is padded (with solid wood underneath). How likely he got a minor concussion from this kind of bump? Thank you.