So you were picking her up (around the waist, I'm guessing), she squirmed out of your arms and fell on the pavement? It's possible she got the bruise from your holding her too tight, or from the fall, but it's also possible she got it some other way - bonked into something earlier and never noticed, as toddlers do.
It's 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' when the kid is big enough to be hard to hold on to when kicking and thrashing. If you don't hold on tight enough, the kid may fall; if you hold on tight enough to prevent that, the kid may get a bruise. IMHO this is precisely the kind of moment for which the Good Swift Smack On The BottomTM was expressly designed, but I understand that as the nanny, you can't resort to that.
"To be perfectly honest, at the time I really felt she kinda deserved it."
Well, of course she did - that's called 'natural consequences': she brought a little lesson on herself, and it sounds like one she needs to learn, because she's getting to be a pretty big girl now. No blame to you for feeling a bit of "So there, see what you got for acting that way?" - that's natural too. But of course you don't want your darling niece to be really hurt. It's not your fault, and a bruise - even a large bruise - is not that big a deal.
It's not your fault that you didn't "know sooner", either, because how are you supposed to know if she doesn't tell you? It's quite possible that her stomache-ache was because she had to poo.
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It's 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' when the kid is big enough to be hard to hold on to when kicking and thrashing. If you don't hold on tight enough, the kid may fall; if you hold on tight enough to prevent that, the kid may get a bruise. IMHO this is precisely the kind of moment for which the Good Swift Smack On The BottomTM was expressly designed, but I understand that as the nanny, you can't resort to that.
"To be perfectly honest, at the time I really felt she kinda deserved it."
Well, of course she did - that's called 'natural consequences': she brought a little lesson on herself, and it sounds like one she needs to learn, because she's getting to be a pretty big girl now. No blame to you for feeling a bit of "So there, see what you got for acting that way?" - that's natural too. But of course you don't want your darling niece to be really hurt. It's not your fault, and a bruise - even a large bruise - is not that big a deal.
It's not your fault that you didn't "know sooner", either, because how are you supposed to know if she doesn't tell you? It's quite possible that her stomache-ache was because she had to poo.