A Broken Arm - Allowed Or Not?

[Guest terrydoo73]

One of our little boys who only comes 3 mornings a week didn't turn up today (the one who is causing us so much hassle with refusing to listen to us and do as we ask!). At the end of the session dad turned up to inform us the child had fallen and broken his arm - could he still come back tomorrow?

 

I said yes we would see how things go and if there was too much work involved we would review it at the end of tomorrows session. My deputy's immediate reaction when I told her was "and how are we going to cope with him, he will need one to one help to do everything, that is just a way of mum and dad getting rid of him for a few hours peace because of the extra work at home." She continued to return to this whine as we tidied up and did observations. In the end I said "well do you want me to ring the parents up and say he cannot come now?" She backed down but was not too pleased!

 

Should we have said yes? Is it OK for children to turn up with injuries such as broken limbs? We have another little girl attending at present with a broken leg - she didn't come until it was like 2 weeks after the cast went on and our hearts are in our mouth every time she moves but it doesn't seem to stop her doing anything within reason. This is her second break in as many weeks on the same leg and we are more concerned as the plaster comes off this week so it will make things more difficult for us next week.

[Rea]

I dont see a problem with allowing the little boy to attend.

Do a risk assessment of the setting, are there areas he might not be able to access without a it of tweeking, can he manage the taps, toilet, door handles? Does his cast need a cover to protect it from paint ect? If you do have to give extra help, well you'd maybe have to give it if a child with a permanent disability came to you, so look at your policies surrounding disability and special needs to make sure you can offer everything he needs.

He might need help with dressing, handling resources, but I'd see how he goes before I step in, children are often much more capable than we expect.

[Panders]

I must admit, I would want him to be at home for at least a couple of weeks before returning, surely he will still be in some kind of pain at such an early stage......... We had a child with a broken collar bone a couple of years ago and we had a very gradual return for her, a very short morning, followed by staying on for snack then going home etc. until she and we felt she could cope - mum was quite anxious too, but in your case, it appears they aren't!!

 

Think you will have to consider some very strict guidelines for him to follow in discussion with his parents and if he breaches those guidelines then review the situation with parents, you must at the very least say to them you are prepared to see how it goes and review it daily, particularly as you are already supporting another child.

[mundia]

Strangely enough, my granddaughter has just broken her arm in two places and has been recommended to stay off school until she has the permanent cast on (she is older mind you). She is finding that she tires very quickly so you might find this will be the case with him too.

 

Otherwise, like Rea, I wouldn't see any reason for him not to attend, he may need extra support with some things but not with others. You can review daily with the parents and take it from there.

 

Good luck

[HappyMaz]

We've had two children attend with broken wrists - sadly both children had their accidents at nursery! It didn't occur to me that they would require any extra work and I would never have suggested they couldn't come. Neither children let it stop them getting involved in whatever they wanted to do, and we didn't encounter any problems. Unless you count a very dirty cast...

 

Great advice from Rea - especially about issues surrounding inclusion.

[Inge]

no reason not to attend.. could be classed as discrimination to deny him back if he is coping with it and ready to return, particularly if you already have a child in a cast..

 

 

will depend on what type of cast he has on and to how long it is as to how much help needed- below elbow is usually easy to cope with... just provide help with things like toileting, hand washing.. we used a gel on the affected hand with parents consent to ensure we did not get the cast wet. water and sand play protect the cast... a small rubber glove or similar and a plastic bag was all we used.. allowed sand ans water play safely with some supervision to ensure water was not too 'splashy' ...

 

give him a chance to try and only step in if you notice it becoming frustrating for him or until he asks for help.. amazing what they cope with..

 

Just watch how he uses the arm and ensure he does not swing it too much.. he will not realise it will hurt others if he hits them by accident..

 

above elbow or full arm is more difficult but possible...

 

get parents to fill in an incident form / existing injury form whichever you have so you can show it happened outside of the setting..

[sunnyday]

I have had - one little girl with a broken arm - no problem - we just didn't have any 'water play' while her cast was on...and one little boy who actually started pre-school with a broken leg - again, no problems.....

[Bigsue]

I have had - one little girl with a broken arm - no problem - we just didn't have any 'water play' while her cast was on...and one little boy who actually started pre-school with a broken leg - again, no problems.....

 

We too have had broken leg (full cast) and several brokern arms and shoulder dislocations

 

Children tend to get on with things but we do advise that if they are in pain ie just done it! then have a rest then return. It I believe would be discriminating if we didn't.

 

However we ask parents to sign a form saying that they agree to the child returning and staff will do their best (just like normal) but we would not accept responsibility for further damage to said part of the body when at pre-school. So really its a common sense and care situation we all work towards the same goal 'A happy child'

[Upsy Daisy]

My daughter broke her arm at 14 months and once the cast was on was able to use her hand normally straight away. It was a greenstick fracture and not awfully painful. If this little boy has the same he may well be able to move around and use his hand very well from day one.

 

Obviously if he is miserable and in pain you'll call the parents as a matter of course anyway so pain shouldn't be a reason to exclude him.

 

You will have to make some adjustments as already mentioned to ensure that the cast doesn't get wet or get anything like sand inside which would irritate his skin. That shouldn't take too much time but if he needs a little extra monitoring then you can kill two birds with one stone and spend some extra time with him supporting his behaviour and listening skills too.

 

I wonder if you could get some support in terms of your relationship with your deputy and some management strategies to help you deal with conflict between you. It sounds like her attitude to him being there is more of a concern than any problems you foresee in caring for him yourself.

 

Is it appropriate for her to be complaining about a decision you ave made in that way?

 

I'm not questioning your management skills in any way. It's just that she sounds quite tricky to deal with.

 

 

Should you feel obliged to offer to call parents and go back on an arrangement you have made in order to keep her happy?

 

If she had said yes would you have done it?

Edited October 4, 2011 by Upsy Daisy

[Cait]

We've had broken arms, broken legs, spica cast - all sorts of things. There's no reason they can't attend as long as they are happy with their casts and not in any pain. We generally sit down and talk about it with the other children and talk about ways we can help - always good for PSED!

 

As as been said, just be aware and be sensible - suggest he stays out of the sand, gloop and water tray just for now and offer different alternatives that won't slip inside his cast and cause irritation.

[enuffsenuf]

We've had broken arms, broken legs, spica cast - all sorts of things. There's no reason they can't attend as long as they are happy with their casts and not in any pain. We generally sit down and talk about it with the other children and talk about ways we can help - always good for PSED!

 

As as been said, just be aware and be sensible - suggest he stays out of the sand, gloop and water tray just for now and offer different alternatives that won't slip inside his cast and cause irritation.

 

weve had a couple of littlies with broken arms.....they coped well and used it as a learning experience for the other children, talking about bones and then using flour, water and strips of material to "cast up" some of the dolls!

[Guest pamgreen]

I have to say how saddened I was to hear the reaction of your deputy , both to you and the parents of the little one. I would have reacted exactly the same as yourself and accepted the child back to nursery, i would do a risk assessment and get parents to complete a health plan, this is in no way criticizing you,

[Panders]

Ohh Crumbs Terrydo so many broken bones between all the other answers you have had on here. We only ever have had the one child with the broken collar bone and her parents wanted to be very cautious. Touch wood I have never broken any of my own bones either so I was certainly over cautious in suggesting the little one be at home for a couple of weeks before returning!

 

sound advice from everyone, hope it all works out for him and you whatever you all decide to do.

[Guest terrydoo73]

This is the same little boy who eats the pasta in the home corner!

[Guest terrydoo73]

Funny my Deputy continued to return to this question of whether he should be allowed so much so that I asked her if she wanted me to ring the parents and say he couldn't come now. She said no that was not what she wanted but it looked to her as though the parents wanted a break for 2 1/2 hours and we were being lumbered with him.

 

I talked to the father and it was obvious there was no pain - he even questioned whether it was actually broke but yes it showed up as a break. My personal feeling is that if we exclude him for say a couple of weeks until the plaster is nearly off we will have the whole process of settling him in again which would take us up to Christmas!!

 

I am going to do an incident report and talk it through with the parents what the doctors have said and how they want us to handle things ie sand and water play, painting etc just in case there is any problem with getting things dirty and we have to wash the affected arm. It will be difficult but I will stress to the parents that we will review it on a daily basis to see how things are going. Looks like today will be a really wet one so we will not get outside - need to put a plan of action of what we will do with children as they get irritable with not being outside.

[HappyMaz]

Looks like today will be a really wet one so we will not get outside - need to put a plan of action of what we will do with children as they get irritable with not being outside.

Sorry to be a pain. Why don't you go outside in the rain?

[Guest terrydoo73]

I mean we don't stay out too long as the children get really wet - we do go through all the joy of putting on coats and hoods, then running around for a while and coming back in again. I mean we don't go on slides etc as too wet and bringing out things like hoops can be dangerous in the slippy conditions. Have you a solution - I mean do we just let them get soaked and come in again provide them all towels fresh clothes etc???

[lynned55]

May I suggest you check with your insurance?

I was told to ring them once to check that it was ok to have a child n with an arm

and leg in a cast and they said we couldn't have him in! I was gobsmacked however

this was some years ago now and I dont think we have had anyone since. But I would always inform them

of anything like this

[Sue R]

Some time ago I had a little boy with a broken arm - full arm cast, which was a cause of much admiration from the other children. He got on with everything and simply took it in his stride.

 

It would never have occurred to us to exclude him as he wasn't in pain or miserable.

 

Sue