To ask your experiences of an older toddler with a broken leg? Looking for tips!!!

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I’m posting for traffic as I’m not sure where to put this!

My friends child has broken his femur! All terrible and in traction and I wondered if anyone else has experienced the same and had any advice or tips?
It looks like he will be in a cast from ankle to waist for quite a while after surgery!

I wondered the best things that would help and what it’s like getting them hone and things that help!!!

Thank you in advance!

Anyone?

No advice except to take it day by day and that kids will manage much better than you imagine they will.
Lots of floor toys, reading and films.
The poor child I hope they recover quickly

DP had a horrendous leg injury as a 4 hear old (a long time ago now I appreciate) he says:
I'm unsure how old they are, if they dont use a pushchair at the moment then I suggest they get one or see if the hospital are providing a wheelchair.

Spend lots of time out of the house so they don't go stir crazy.
Again depending on age, colouring books, fuzzy felts, sticker books and of course TV and or Ipad but try not to rely on these too much.
Keep them in the family room as much as possible rather than in their bedroom so they dont feel isolated

This happened to my son's friend a few months ago. We dropped off some sticker book type of stuff and playdoh for him. His parents borrowed one of those bike trailer things that can also be pushed like a buggy to get him out for walks as the cast meant he couldn't fit in a normal buggy.

Thanks! He is 4 - it’s just so unfortunate! My friend is having to stay in hospital the whole time which is also rubbish! He is going to be cast in a sitting position too

DD2 broke her leg on a trampoline when she was 4. She was in a cast for 6 weeks and, apart from having to go back in a pushchair for leaving the house, once the proper cast was on the little beggar carried on as normal. She couldn't be persuaded not to walk on it at home. All it did was slow her down a bit but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected it to be.

Your friends child sounds like they have a worse break than dd2 had though.

Oh no, just read about the sitting position. That's obviously going to be a lot harder for him. Poor little soul.

My son who was 2 at the time broke his femur and was in a hip cast with one cast down to his ankle and the other to his knee with a bar in the middle.

The first week he was in a lot of pain and would wake constantly screaming. Make sure they have a lot of medicine in.

We put his car seat on a dining seat at the table so he could eat, draw, do crafts, etc. so lots of pens, crayons, stickers, etc. we tied the seat to the chair with bungee cords.

We put toys next to where he led on the sofa.

We got him a bean bag and a medical bottle to wee in (there were accidents on the sofa) he had to go back to doing number 2 in nappies.

He watched ALOT of tv.

The buggy was a savior and we put blankets over him to keep him warm and cover him up.

He was in his cast for 7 weeks it was a long time......but he healed brilliantly and had a slight limp when he walked but within no time that completely disappeared.

Best wishes to your friend and her little one.

DS broke his leg when he was 4 - in a full leg cast for 6 weeks. What saved us was a child size wheelchair to get around - the hospital didn’t give us one but we rented one and it was well worth it. We have a walk-in shower, we sat DS in the shower tray and put a strong bin bag around his cast to protect it when showering. It wasn’t much fun but could have been far worse! Good luck for your friend, I hope her DS recovers quickly.

My 3 year old had a spiral fracture in her leg shortly after her third birthday. No traction needed thankfully, but was in a cast from foot to hip

Is the child still in a car seat? He won't be able to rear face, there's nowhere for the leg to go. Even forward facing is difficult there's not a lot of room between the leg and seat in front. May be necessary for the child to be behind the passenger seat with the passenger seat pulled right forward. The only place we went in the car was the appointments for her leg.

She actually adapted really well, it was difficult to keep her off the leg until she was allowed to walk on it. She did a lot of bum shuffling, and hopping and leg dragging. She found what was easiest for her. When out and about we put her in a trike which has a parent handle to push her,l. We made a makeshift sling for her leg underneath the handles so her foot was up out the way.

She did need help getting on and off the toilet, but at the time she needed a footstool to reach the toilet.

I'm not sure about when the leg has been in traction, but we got a waterproof cover for bathing and showering and playing with mucky things. We had to measure the leg to get a proper fit and the hospital gave us a leaflet with recommended brands.

Also have a think about clothing. Tights were a no go, most jeans were a no go, most leggings were a no go. Most things just simply didn't fit over the cast. We had to go out and buy some baggy jogging bottoms. Also think about things to cover the foot. We got some socks several sizes too large for my daughter.

We found she adjusted quite well but did get frustrated at times

Yes this happened to us when DS was two. Broken femur..huge cast with a bar. He was still in nappies which was easier in a way.. We used a buggy..the sitting position cast wasnt too unmanageable. DS was in hospital for ten days....very boring for us parents ....we expected the worst for him but he was so resilient and adaptable it was amazing. After a few weeks he could crawl around on it and play away..We had a party for him with a special cake that he still remembers! Lots of colouring books and an ipad...time will fly by ..The most worrying time was the few weeks after the cast came off it took him a while to get walking and there is no physio or support they just suggested he get on with it....but this was true. He was walking again after 2 weeks. Kids are amazing !!

DD was 4 when she broke her leg. I had to get it repotted twice because she constantly walked on it, only thing I'd recommend is buying lots of cheap pj bottoms and cutting off one leg, will make changing so much easier. Poor thing, hope he has a speedy recovery.

Ugh all the memories flooding back. DS1 fell off a scooter and broke his femur with a spiral fracture, right around this time of year - had his 4th birthday during the three weeks of traction in hospital, we got home just before Christmas and he was in a hip spica from belly button to ankle with a bar between his knees till mid January. He was too big for a pushchair so we were loaned one from the Red Cross.

On the plus side, he learned to read early as we read to him constantly and he couldn't get away. DH, my mum and I took it in shifts to stay with him in hospital or home with DS2 who was just 2.

Advice - books books and more books, non-crunchy snacks as crumby stuff like crisps and toast gets all over the bed and changing the sheets was always so traumatic as it hurt his poor leg in traction - fruit was definitely best. The hospital put a camp bed next to DS but it wasn't that comfy so I brought a pillow and foam mattress from home. Lots of treats for the nurses. When the hip spica goes on, be warned that watching a child go under anaesthesia is really upsetting but they don't remember it - I was so shocked because I wasn't expecting it and I still worry DS remembers me being upset.

With the spica, get a long metal telescopic scratcher as the itching was maddening. Buy adult fluffy knee socks to cover the feet and lower legs as shoes won't fit on the spica and the toes are bare out of the bottom of the cast. Also I got age 13-14 flannel pyjama bottoms and opened up the middle seam from knee to knee, then sewed snaps in so we could actually put something warm on him (it was winter). He also commando crawled everywhere on his forearms.

When the hip spica comes off don't expect him to leap up off the table and run around - DS had lost a lot of muscle tone and couldn't walk for a while, expect to use a pushchair for a while afterwards. We did loads of swimming to help build him back up as well as ballet at the recommendation of the physio to build rotation in his hip without any jarring impacts - football was completely off the table for that reason.

That being said they do bounce back so fast. I have photos of him playing happily in the park just 3 months later!

Thank you all!!! Really helpful!!!