Burns Helping your child move and play (1032)

Key points below


Helping your child move and play

Why is it important to keep my child moving?

Movement and play is important for your child after a burn injury. Movement helps keep the skin as stretchy as possible. It also helps keep the skin from getting too tight. The occupational and physical therapists (OT and PT) may give you special exercises to help your child.

Here are other things you can do to help. Have your child do more on their own with:

Help your child play using parts of their body as soon as possible.

- Put toys at different heights for them to grab.

- Attach paper onto a wall or refrigerator to color.

- Play ball throwing games with over head throwing.

- Play with knob puzzles.

- String beads/cheerios.

- Color or paint.

- Peel and stick stickers.

- Reach side to side. Sing “Put your right hand in…”

- Reach to opposite sides. Sing “I’m a little teapot…”

- Reach overhead and to the floor with both arms. Sing “Head, shoulders, knees and toes...”

- Walk, dance

- Move in and out of a chair

- Do standing play

- Do knee and toe touches

- Make ankle and leg circles

What if my child can’t or won’t do these things?

Talk to your doctor, nurse or therapist about this. They may have some other ideas to try. Your child has been through a lot and may be afraid to move, sad about the scars, in pain or may not move for other reasons. Encouraging movement and play is important for healing.

ALERT: Call your child’s doctor, nurse, or clinic if you have any questions or concerns or if your child has special health care needs that were not covered by this information.