Ideas for 4 Year Old with Broken Leg??

I wrote to a friend whose son broke his leg awhile ago, here is my request...
Jennifer I know I have seen pictures of your little boy in a cast, so I thought you would have some good ideas for this Mom... Thanks in advance if you can help her out!!
> A. (Mom to Montanna~ age 4)

And Her Response...
Ur right honey!! My lil guy broke his leg at 2 1/2 yrs old!!!

UNBELIEVABLE CRUSHING MY HEART SEEING HIM!!!
What happened?

Sippy cup spill of choco milk on carpet so we spot cleaned it...I was angry cuz car also had flat and I made it home thankfully but angry late cold dark and fixing tire / friends..come in home and see spill and get angry and go to kitchen get cleaning stuff to spot clean...spot clean it...then him blasting running thru home as toddler would he falls and his leg like chicken wing....and wouldn't
move it...ER...leg broke...Horribly sad...like words cannot describe...Thought of the columnist who wrote that section Ann Landers when she found out she had cancer terminal -- about don't give a damn about saving use and don't worry about stains et al JUST LIVE AND ENJOY cuz don't know what life has in store...SO TRUE

my son SUFFER over a darn spill!!!

anyway ideas --

have many people around to entertain and play with him... and do everything for him...i pulled him out of daycare as worried about anything getting in that cast which means that they have to cut it off and put another one...also get a glow in dark cast cuz cool for them at night...and my son was in diapers so that made it more difficult...but checking on him very frequently helped out...also worked flexible hours so i could be with him most and play with him -- cars toys coloring et al...didn't want him around too many kids more adults cuz kids could spill or put something accidently into the cast and bamb that could be scary cuz u may not know it...

hope that helps...guess mostly what i am saying is make sure to do everything possible u can for him like if infant and entertain him...so that way he isn't trying to do something he can't and get into trouble...even putting a crayon down his cast...it wasn't easy but doing that is the safest and we had NO problems and he got his
cast off on time and ALL well

O yeah -- BE READY for the shocker when they cut the cast off...the leg will be SKINNY as in like horribly sick skinny in not like belonging to ur kids body...they said it would be smaller but hell that is an UNDERSTATEMENT BIG TIME...i was scared it was so little and worried it would not strengthen and build and catch up...BUT HAVE FAITH it does..JUST BE READY for an awefully unexpected sick sick
sick look leg...

hope that all helps u...Jennifer

Hi L. -
I'm so sorry about your little boy. I have a 4 year old and here are some ideas that may work for you. Have them play 'storekeeper' with your son on the couch with the 'cash register' (we use our drawer on our end table) and have his sister brings her 'purchases' to him - use play money (will also helps with counting, etc.). Also, we received something called WikiSticks (can buy them at kids art stores and probably several toy stores and on-line), but your son can make some neat art projects. Playdough is also fun (maybe something like the dentist or doggie vet playdough set). We also introducted a lot of games at this age (Boggle Jr. Hi-Ho Cherry-O, etc.). Good Luck!
T.

My friends 2 year old broke her leg. She was the size of a 4 year old though. I was staying with them right after it happened so I helped out alot.

We found a double stroller the older type where you can put both seats into recline all the way down and basically have a long bed and put the girl in that to take her places. She could sit in the back of the stroller but have both legs comfortably lay flat in front of her. This was about the only way they could take her anywhere including the doctor's. I suppose a wagon would work too.

They used her carseat on family room floor as a seat and pulled up the coffee table for her to play at.

Now in the car sitting in a carseat was not fun having to have her leg dangle hurt or something and we had to put blankets and things under for support.

She liked to lay on the floor and play with like little people, things she could just sit and play.

Her medicine for the pain made her have a horrible stomach ache and had horrible diarreha. She wasn't potty trained yet but I know it got pretty bad so watch out for that with your son.

Then after a few days she started to want to walk on that leg again and learned to crawl, kinda walk with it. The doctor said that was ok.

L.,

It sounds like you already have a lot of great ideas. I would recommend you purchase a bunch of things for a "fun bag". When he is tired of one activity, he can pull another out of the bag. For example you could have pipecleaners and have him create things or string cheerios. You can pick things up at Michaels, Target and even thrift stores, such as books, coloring books, etc. The "shopping" idea is great. To lengthen the time, I would even have him price items for you with blue painters tape, and a marker. Use of real or toy money is great to practice counting as the other poster mentioned.

As far as the pull-up at night, I personally would do it. I would explain in advance that it is simply to keep his cast dry in the event he has to go and you can't get there quick enough to help him to the bathroom. Use it as a "back-up" only. If he ends up being lazy and just goes in it, you will have a bit of retraining after this, but it shouldn't be a huge deal. He won't have a cast on it so changing the bed should be easy. You don't want an accident now to cause him to feel bad or have esteem issues.

Good luck! J.

My 2 1/2 year old broke his leg this summer and was in a long leg cast for 4 weeks. Fortunately, he was in a walking cast so by about day four he was hobbling around on it. The night he did it, I went out and bought a fancy Radio Flyer wagon with seat backs. He traveled around in that for the most part. The same one we bought is on sale this week at Target, I noticed. Our little guy isn't potty trained so that isn't an issue but I would definitely do the pullups. Even when my son hadn't figured out how to walk on his, he was scooting around on the floor, and all over the place so it wasn't too much of an issue for us. He was definitley a bit more whiny, but then again, I am dealing with a 2 1/2 year old, not a 4 year old. Sorry I don't have ideas about activities, my son was still playing his cars and trains on the floor. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

HI! I hope things are going ok so far. If you have a wagon or stroller for him, you could take him the Childrens Museum. It might do some good to get out of the house for a change of scenery & they have some really neat stuff for kids to do. Right now they have the exhibits Curious George & Sesame Street. That's just one idea, good luck!!!

Hi L.,
I'm sorry your son broke his leg! Best wishes for the entire family during the healing process.

My son turns 4 in a few weeks and these are some things he likes to do.
He is allowed to visit some age appropriate games on our home computer. www.nickjr.com, http://pbskids.org, www.thomasandfriends.com and his favorite, the Rescue Heroes at www.fisher-price.com.

He recently started to love mazes. I found an entire book of mazes in the $1 bins at Michaels.

We use a Leapster in the car for long road trips and they have some great learning ones for preschoolers.

If he likes books on trucks, machines, etc. Usborne sells some really great books with lots of short details on each type of tracter, truck, boat, etc. He can look at this book for hours! Let me know if you want a representative referral.

Construction paper, safety scissors and glue sticks are a fun project for them to do together.

Leaf rubbing/coloring - lay down leaf vein side up, then paper on top. Peel paper off crayon and lay horizontal to rub over the leafs. Try different types of leaves and different colored crayons. We just did this and mailed to the grandparents to keep in touch with them. Even my 2 year old did this.

Hope these ideas help!
Take care,
J.

If you have a computer get him some games like Jump start 1st grade and some fun ones too.