Zeeva loved wearing bigger-sized shoes, which led to the accident: Mridula Khanna Arora

“As new parents, we are all new to the world of kid accidents at home, minor bumps, and bruises. It takes time for us to make peace with it. However, the thought of their child getting seriously injured inside a home is every parent’s worst nightmare. We have experienced this, and I hope that it does not happen to anyone else.

When my daughter Zeeva was around 2 years of age, she was a mischievous child who loved to dress up in my clothes and use my makeup. She found it particularly fascinating to wear adult shoes that were several sizes larger than her own. Several times, we tried to dissuade her from wearing our shoes and sandals, as she might fall. But she would look for opportunities to wear those out of sight, just like any toddler. We live in a joint family in Delhi—we stay upstairs while my in-laws and other relatives stay downstairs. So, there are many people to keep an eye on Zeeva, and she loves to play and mingle with them. She is particularly fond of her dada-dadi. One afternoon, when everyone was resting, Zeeva and I were talking in our bedroom. Suddenly, she insisted that I go to the terrace and collect the clothes that were hanging on the line to dry. I was quite amused to see her worldly-wise ways, and went out to collect the clothes.

But Zeeva had other plans. She had seen one of her dad's slippers lying around our room. (Usually, we keep our sandals downstairs so Zeeva can’t wear them, but this time my husband had brought them upstairs to our room by mistake.) Zeeva wore those slippers and ran out to the terrace. After a few minutes, I heard a huge scream. I rushed to her side only to see her falling flat on her face, with blood gushing from her mouth. For a moment, my mind went blank. All that knowledge about first aid went for a toss. I screamed louder than her, asking my in-laws and Zeeva’s tayiji (aunt) to rush upstairs.

Everyone gathered and we carried Zeeva back to the room. At that time, one of our nephews, who was 5, found a tooth lying on the terrace. Zeeva’s lips were swollen, she had bruises on her face and hands, and had lost one of her front teeth in the fall. We took her to a nearby dentist, who suggested a few medicines. We consulted a pedodontist (specialist) for her teeth the next day. After examining her closely, he suggested a procedure called Hollywood Application. We had never heard of it. He said we can get it done as soon as Zeeva turns 3.

Soon, Zeeva’s bruises healed, and she forgot about the accident in no time and started playing like before. That is another aspect of childhood I simply love; kids don’t brood over issues and incidents like us adults. My daughter gets along well with her cousins, Arnav and Kabir—together they weave a magical world of pretend and outdoor play. It’s so heartwarming to see them engrossed in their world of make-believe.

Now, whenever someone mentions her missing tooth, Zeeva gives a long explanation and says that she has lost it, as she hadn’t listened to us and had worn bigger-sized shoes that day!

Listening to her innocent confession fills our hearts with joy and tears. We all try to cheer her up by saying that it’s just a milk tooth and must go away anyway. We tell her stories about the tooth fairy, which she finds very fascinating.

Now, Zeeva goes around advising other kids not to wear bigger-sized shoes, and she just looks adorable with her toothless smile. She turned 3 last June, but we are not planning to go for any cosmetic procedure for that missing tooth. Meanwhile, her mischievous self is back, keeping all of us on our toes.”

By Mridula Khanna Arora

(As told to Monali Bordoloi)