Advice + Tips

In April 2025, Ewan my eldest broke his right arm (he’s right handed) on the first days of the Easter Holidays. He was riding his bike and came off it and landed awkwardly. I could see immediately that it was broken as it was a very odd shape and he was very understandably upset.

The first thing I did was fashion him a sling out of a tea towel and a hair bobble, which did the job but I have now bought this first aid kit which includes a sling as that would have been a MUCH easier option in a crisis! I also gave him Calpol as pain relief is essential! Then I put him in the car and we drove to A&E.

After an x-ray confirmed the break and just looking at it confirmed it was bent out of shape the doctors told me they needed to reset the bone before plastering it. So they gave him lots of sedatives, gas and air and pain relief medicine and pulled his arm about. Ewan was giggling the whole time at this. He didn’t seem bothered at all! They put it in a temporary cast, and sent us home explaining the fracture clinic would be in touch with further information.

I propped Ewan’s arm up on a pillow for bedtime and kept up with the pain relief medicine. He didn’t seem to be in any paid at all. He did however feel very nauseas so we were up through the night with a bowl. I think it was the gas and air that made him go all queasy.

A couple of days later we were back at the fracture clinic. Despite being given a 9am appointment we weren’t actually seen until 9:40 and then needed further x-rays and resetting before a proper plaster cast was put on. It was quite the ordeal which I wasn’t expecting. More gas and air and a whole morning in hospital! Ewan once again was a lot calmer than I was and handled it like a complete legend. I was flapping about worrying. As us parents tend to do.

My tip here is that ANY time you are going to a hospital, even if just for an appointment, take snacks, drinks and entertainment with you for all children in your care. I had nothing that day, thinking we’d be home within an hour, and it was a challenge.

Once he was all sorted with a nice blue, past the elbow, cast, he was happy. He started getting everyone he could to sign it with a sharpie. I bought this waterproof cover from Amazon which was brilliant, so he could still have a bath and stay clean.

Ewan managed really well with his cast. It didn’t seem to bother him. Unfortunately I had booked for us to go to Zip World in Wales for the Easter holiday and I contacted them about this and they said that there was no refund and he could absolutely not partake in any of the activities, which was a real shame as he was really looking forward to it as we went with friends! Ewan was great though. We explained to him why and he understood and we gave him the job of photographer. They also had this giant marble run on the site which we bought them all wooden marbles for so he really enjoyed playing that.

Speaking of marbles, his Gravitrax became his go to activity during this time. We took a big box of it on holiday with us and all the kids built cool marble runs with it. It was something he could join in with and he could happily do alone too. I would recommend getting some crafts or indoor activities which use their hands for when they have a broken arm. There are loads of my suggestions on my Amazon shop including our favourite board and card games - we got to grips with the game Catan, or crafts and activities like Skillmatics foil fun and Baker Ross craft sets. Kinetic sand is good as is playdough for hand and grip strength. We were also told by the doctor that a bit of time on the Nintendo Switch wasn’t a bad thing as those finger movements are useful for healing. If it was now, as we approach the long summer holidays I would definitely be calling on The I’m Bored Guide for all the best ideas - the chilled vibe chapter is ideal!

Kids heal really quickly, much faster than an adult. Ewan is quite a relaxed character so he wasn’t phased. He did get a few itches but just tapped his cast until they went. He also slept well, even with his cast. He propped himself up with lots of pillows. We watched a lot of movies and he read some good books. His faves are on our Amazon shop.

At one point he did crack his cast open playing at school, so another LONG visit to the fracture clinic was needed but they patched it back up once they had established that no bones had moved. To get outside we would go for walks and I found that he could do crazy golf quite easily with his left hand, so we did that a couple of times!

After the holidays it was time to go back to school. This wouldn’t have bothered us typically but Ewan was due to start his SATS year 6 assessments within two weeks and his arm would still be in the cast! Eek! I was really worried as he had been doing so well with his mocks and was actually looking forward to showing off in these assessments, and I just didn’t want this to give him a really negative first exam experience or for it to mean he wouldn’t do himself justice.

However I needn’t have worried. The school were brilliant. They were set up for this scenario and had seen it many times before. They allocated a TA he knew as his scribe (she wrote for him) and he practiced with her before the assessments. He had to tell her everything he would write including punctuation. His teacher let him do work on the computer in lessons and adjusted things to help him out. He got a certificate for courage to show they noticed how well he was adapting and working. The school were superb and his SATS all got completed as he hoped they would. (We recently got his results too and he did fantastically well, as expected!)

Another top tip I also want to mention is the power of carrots!!! I have a friend who is a radiologist and she said carrot juice is great for helping to mend bones. I bought smoothies with carrot in for Ewan to have each day and some carrot cake bars as snacks. I also cooked carrots for our dinner regularly or chopped up some raw ones as a snack. He healed really well so clearly it was the carrot power! Worth a go. A good children’s multivitamin is probably useful too!

After about 5 weeks it was time to get the cast off. Another morning in the fracture clinic and then he was free. His skin was all dry and flakey and his arm looked pale and weak. He said it felt incredibly strange. He spend a few days gently trying to straighten his arm until he got back full mobility. He had a long soak in a warm bath which helped a lot. But by the following week he was back swimming like nothing had happened. We kept checking on him but he just said it was fine. We are now months on and his arm is completely healed and hasn’t bothered him once.

As always I feel so incredible grateful for our NHS, and massively thankful to all the staff who helped us. Whenever we visit a hospital I am always so aware of how lucky we are if we get to leave with whatever it is, fixed. And that’s what this was. So I hope if you have a little one with a broken arm this is useful to you. and I very much hope this is the last time I ever have to require this advice. Lots of love and luck to you.