Activities for a Child With a Broken Leg

Decorate the Cast

• Invite your child's friends over for a couple hours and let them help her decorate the cast. Provide colored markers for signatures and drawings. Use permanent markers because washable ones can smear. Advise kids to keep the markers on the cast only, and monitor younger children when using permanent markers. Give your child and her friends stickers, too, to add flair to her cast. Help your child hot glue decorations, such as rhinestones or beads, onto the cast to make it even more eye-catching.

Quiet Activities

• Since your child is mostly limited to activities that he can do while sitting down, bring out quiet activities to keep him busy. Give him a stack of jigsaw puzzles to put together at the kitchen table or get out his favorite board games and play a few together. Read your child his favorite books or ask him to read to you. You might buy a few new books or check out books from the library to keep him interested in reading in the weeks to come. A movie marathon on a lazy afternoon is bound to keep your child entertained for several hours, too.

Art Projects

• Many children enjoy the chance to be creative and if your child's leg is broken, it's the perfect time to encourage her to make a few masterpieces. Coloring books and crayons are a simple option, but you might also let your child paint or play with clay, too. Give your child a paper towel tube and challenge him to make a telescope or ask your child to fold a piece of paper several times and use a hole punch to make a paper snowflake with a twist. Older children might like learning how to make friendship bracelets or how to fold origami figures.

Additional Activities

• Because immobilization is part of the healing process, according to MayoClinic.com, your child won't be able to run and jump until the cast comes off. That doesn't mean that your child has to sit around without lifting a finger for the next few weeks, however. Always ask your child's doctor before doing physical activities, of course, but they can help him get some energy out. Ask your child to hop on his unbroken foot as many times as he can or take him outside and roll him a ball that he can kick with the foot on his good leg. Your health insurance might pay for a wheelchair rental while your child's leg heals. If so, push him around the neighborhood when he gets tired of being cooped up in the house. A trip to the mall, zoo or a museum might be entertaining, too.