23 month old with a broken leg :( - Any helpful tips?

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Hi all

My little boy broke his leg yesterday. A local leisure centre auto door closed on his leg as he sat in his pushchair.

He was a confident and active boy. Now he isn't allowed to put any weight on his temporary cast till Tuesday when we find out if he's ready for a fibre glass cast.

We've bought him some toys that he can play with close at hand, but I'm at a loss how to keep him happy, clean, occupied and still developing at such a crucial age?

Any ideas much appreciated x Has anyone else experienced this?

Ipad or similar. Lots of colouring books. Clean is difficult. Its strip washing for a wee while.

At his age he will continue to develop just fine when the cast comes off.

My little boy broke his leg at 18 months.

He had a temporary (heavy) cast for 3 days and then a light cast for only 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks we could take him swimming and he learnt to walk/run on his cast too. The doctor was fine with this as he had a green stuck fracture.

Whilst he has the temporary cast he had to be immobile so we bought him some new happy land toys which he was happy with (and he was initially in pain/tired anyway). Good luck.

We haven't had this but DS had an operation when he was 3 and afterwards I had to keep him calm & immobile for a long period and off his bike and avoiding rough & tumble for ages, not easy with an enthusiastic and energy full little boy, who was fine despite the op. We went with distraction - small new toys introduced when we bored with stuff, new videos & treats, days out to cool places (that didn't involve running about - this tested me somewhat) favourite foods and distractions for when he got frustrated that he couldn't do what he wanted.

I hope your little one is ok, maybe go and let him pick out some dvds, and a trip out somewhere where he doesn't need to get out of his buggy maybe an aquarium or a zoo.
Also I hope you're ok, that must have been scary.

Let him scoot around on his bottom, he will be fine to do that

Have you still got a buggy for him ? Stick him in that when you are out of the house

You can buy waterproof covers for plaster casts on the internet, so you could at least let him sit in the bath while you shower him (rather than submerge his leg fully IYSWIM)

Other than that, try not to helicoptor too much, it will all work out fine

Oh, how horrible - poor you, poor him

DS spent months and months in a cast when he was a baby and toddler. Once he has his proper cast on you will be fine. He will find ways to be very mobile.

Get a Limbo cast cover for baths - you can reputedly use them for going swimming too. Limbo but wait til the proper cast is on so you can measuer the right size. they send them by return of post - excellent service.

Make sure he wears trousers / PJ bottoms etc at all times. Toast / lego posted down a cast requires a trip to the plaster room and partial removal of cast.

Keep him clean with a bed bath with wrung out flannels.

This is the moment DVDs and CBeebies were invented for. A broken leg will not affect his development in the slightest.

Play doh, whatever sit down toys he likes, cinema, put him in his high chair so he can't escape, lots of trips out in his buggy etc.

When DD was not allowed to walk we confined her to a buggy with straps or her high chair with her straps on. We bought her a collection of little animals which she adored playing with and would find various toys and books to have to hand for her to use. DVDs went down well and cbeebies filled a need too. Even if you don't usually let your DS watch much tv now is a good reason to allow a bit more and not worry unduly about it all. He'll be fine when he is mobile and back to his old activities again.

I second Limbo, it was a lifesaver when DD broke her arm. Fantastic service, but you need to make sure you get the measurements right. Hope your DS has a quick recovery.

Oh and bean bags were great for moulding a comfortable position, taking weight off to reduce pain etc, often used for nap times instead of trying to get comfy in her cot.

The one thing we weren't expecting was the cast removal method. DD was petrified by the drill thing! if I'd know what she was in for I would have taken a lot more food/toys as distraction. Minor point but its stuck with me.

Hi all, thanks so much for your posts. Sorry I haven't been online for a few days.....it's been a bit hectic unsurprisingly!
He's doing great, we're getting over the initial shock and learning to adapt to his lack of mobility . It's so sad to see him literally trying to drag himself along floor, when only a week ago he was a boisterous active little boy :(
The temp plaster cast is a pain and we look forward to getting him in new cast on Tuesday; which I'm sure will be easier to cope with.
Then it's his second birthday on Wednesday!

My ds2 broke his leg when he was just 3. He quickly adapted to wearing the plaster and would crawl around balanced on the knee of the broken leg. After a couple of weeks he was able to walk whilst still in the plaster.