2 year old Daughter diagnosed with ALL Leukaemia

[TMTAR]

Hi my 2 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with ALL leukaemia BCell on 24/09/25 we are currently in hospital with her for her treatments I am just wondering if anyone has any experience of this at this age and any helpful hints or tips they may have for her ie to entertain her/ give her motivation to get out of the bed or anything to eat as she is so fussy no we are finding it difficult other than crisps to get her to eat. Thanks

I don’t have any experience but I didn’t want to read and run. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had this devastating news. I hope someone more wise will be along soon with some advice. Wishing your daughter all the best.

No experience either but bumping for you in the hope someone more useful than me sees this xx

I'm so sorry for you and your little one.
Wishing you all the very best

I'm absolutely no help I'm afraid but I wish you all the very very best. It must be a very upsetting and difficult time for you all.

I am so sorry to read this. I have no helpful experience but feel that maybe an interactive style book (electronic) which could tell stories when she is tired could help? I am sure others will be along soon who have better ideas.

Wishing you all lots of love at a difficult time, and sending hugs xx

I'm so sorry 🌷💕

what does she usually like to eat? Drink? Personally I'd let her have anything she usually likes.

is there any play equipment (indoor playground) In the hospital? Does she like to 'explore'? Use lifts? Escalators? Push a doll around a toy pram? Kick a ball? dance? Does she use a scooter? Anywhere they'd let her do that indoors?

books
drawing/colouring/scribbling
playdoh
memory cards
orchard brand games
jigsaws

lots depends on if she's just 2 or nearly 3.

😘

Poor baby. I have no advice but wish all the luck in the world to her and you.

I’m so sorry for baby and for you. I don’t have experience of this but I have been with baby in hospital for a while.
Do you have a Tomy Box toy? I know I’ll sound like an advert but I bought one for my little grandchild and now I buy the figures that go with it whenever I want to treat little one to something. Each figurine tells a story or some of them are songs. When baby wasn’t well I bought the singing lullabies one for a comfort type thing. It’s just an idea.

I like the ideas a previous poster suggested- the elevator and corridor play might bring a comfort by allowing you both to familiarise yourselves with the hospital which might make it less frightening?

I wish you so much luck and sending good thoughts X

I’m so sorry to hear about your DD, wishing you all the best. A Tony box is a great idea, or a Yoto which is similar. Slight advantage of a Yoto is that you can record your own cards (which you pop in the slot at the top of the player to play), which means you could ask all her favourite people to record themselves reading her a story and put them all on a Yoto card for her to listen to.

Alternatively, a cheaper option is an old-fashioned MP3 player- we got our DS one for about £20 from Argos, and a pair of kids headphones that limit the volume to protect their ears. Then you can put music, family reading stories, whatever you like on there. It might be a bit fiddlier for a little one to use independently but my son’s (very basic) Bush one is quite simple- you just switch it on and then use the arrow buttons to skip between tracks until you find the one you want.

So sorry to hear this, you must still be in shock. My daughter was diagnosed with ALL as a 2 year old 22 years ago, she’s now a thriving 24 year old and is very healthy. I expect the protocol has been updated during those decades but may have some useful advice for you. Re eating the hospital dietician recommended the opposite of the healthy heart diet, so veg cooked in cream and cheese, plenty of fat, salt and sugar! We found her tastes changed totally and she preferred very strong flavours, but really let her lead the way, gave her lots of alternatives, and I was basically her short order chef during treatment, and took lots of food into the hospital as the hospital food was dire. Others have posted lots of good ideas for play. Please ask if you have other questions, stay strong for her xx

so sorry. This happened to my friends three year old nephew earlier this year and he is ok now after treatment at gosh.

Hi @TMTAR

I am an ALL mum to a 9 year old who finished treatment this year after 3 years.

if you want to drop me a message on anything at all especially treatments, chemos etc please do. What treatment protocol is she on? Has she had a risk pathway stratified yet?

The road looks impossible at the start but you can do this.

hello @TMTAR i’m so very sorry to read this, I am A survivor of AML it’s five years ago now know that treatment different for children But I have to say, all blood cancer treatments in this country is amazing. The first thing I would say is don’t Google as often the information is often out of date. Depending on where you are in the country you may be sent to one of the centres of excellence for the treatment.

I'm very sorry about your daughter's diagnosis, @TMTAR . My DS was diagnosed with a different cancer, but I second @loubie1967 comments. Children often lose their appetite or find it difficult to eat during treatment. So the key thing is getting as many calories into them as possible, in the few mouthfulls they may take. So if your daughter likes crisps, buy crisps. Try full fat ice cream, make ice cream milkshakes, use full fat milk, custard, add butter and double cream to everything possible (e.g. mashed potato); let her eat chips and burgers, offer drinks that have real sugar in them rather than diet drinks (e.g. there are a few brands of cordial that still use real sugar and no sugar substitutes) etc. This was the food guidance in the PDF guide available on the GOSH website (not sure if it's still there).

Same with my daughter, and she was about the same as your little girl. A balanced diet can wait, calories are more important. If that means chocolate cake at 3am, that's fine. If it means negotiating a bite whilst you sing and dance, then do it (yep did that too). Oh, and cold apple juice is great for hydration and calories.

As for entertainment, do whatever you need to. I swear some days my toddler watched 8 hours of octonauts! A bag of small toys is useful, and depending on whether just 2 or nearly 3, crafts. There is a cbeebeies craft magazine which is great.

Wishing you and your little one all the best for the road ahead. If in time you feel up to it, there's a kids with cancer board on here which might be useful for support.

I’ve got no experience but has she got a tonies box. You can keep adding characters to get more books.

Hi OP so sorry you are going through this. My son was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at 16 months old.
the play team at the hospital were amazing at bringing sensory toys and lights to occupy him. There was also weekly music therapy which was lovely. When he was well enough he could access the hospital sensory room or rooftop garden for fresh air. The rest of the time he either watched videos on a portable dvd player thing or we read or played with toys. When he wasn’t in an isolation bay we spent a lot of time walking up and down the ward corridors (he learnt to walk in hospital), they also had little push along cars and trikes he could ride on.

Oh and also with the food don’t get too panicked about what she is eating, as long as she is eating. They may well offer a feeding tube (NG) at some point if she is struggling to eat and suffering from mucositis from the chemo. My son kept pulling his tube out so instead he mostly lived off the pediasure shakes in a bottle. You will probably get a dietician involved in the care of your daughter to make sure she is taking on enough fluid and calories.

Since she’s 2 and treatments will be tiring, broken routines and low appetite happen a lot. Make eating effortless: keep crispy snacks (if diet allows) but also try soft finger foods she can grab (mini chicken bites, cheese cubes, soft fruit pieces). Offer fluids she enjoys (maybe making smoothies with hidden fruit/veggies). For motivation, short bursts of gentle play (5-10 mins) interspersed with rest help balance energy. Ask the nurse if the hospital has child-life specialists; they’re great at giving little fun activities tailored to kids in treatment. Stay strong, you’ve got this.

i hope treatment is going well. My son had ALL when he was 7 and is in remission now, at college, 17. Happy to share any coping strategies to help. Sending love