How to get son to stay in wheelchair on playground

[jeannemarkowski]

Hello all,
I'm a Mom to two boys with SB, and my eight year old is your typical little boy and wants to be outside on the ground in the dirt. I have the hardest time finding overalls now to fit him and his pants come down because he crawls all over the playground. As a Mother, this is very demeaning to me, my baby crawling around with his pants down, diaper showing in public. I have talked and talked to him until I'm blue in the face. I realize there will come a day when he starts being more self conscious, but how do I get him to stay in his chair? Also, he loves loves being outside, but I'm afraid he will get cut with glass or something else in the yard. (even though we try and keep our yard very tidy) Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do so he can not feel left out and enjoy being outside? His chair can't go all over the yard, so what do I do? He also broke his femur a few mos back because he jumped out of his chair onto his legs one too many times. I've also talked to him about taking care of his body til I'm blue in the face :) Any suggestions are wonderful!

[Dodger67]

Hi Jeanne

I'm going to mess with your post a bit. Turn some of your questions inside out to try to show the issues from a different angle. Because I used to be an 8 year old boy too...

Hello all,
I'm a Mom to two boys with SB, and my eight year old is your typical little boy and wants to be outside on the ground in the dirt. I have the hardest time finding overalls now to fit him and his pants come down because he crawls all over the playground. As a Mother, this is very demeaning to me, my baby crawling around with his pants down, diaper showing in public. I have talked and talked to him until I'm blue in the face. I realize there will come a day when he starts being more self conscious, but how do I get him to stay in his chair?

Outside in the dirt is a natural habitat for an 8 year old boy - its where he belongs (at least some of the time anyway).
Your embarrasment is not his problem, its yours.
His pants are faulty, not his behaviour.
Have you tried this style of overalls? They will not come off from crawling on the ground.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Bib-brace.jpg/305px-Bib-brace.jpg

Also, he loves loves being outside, but I'm afraid he will get cut with glass or something else in the yard. (even though we try and keep our yard very tidy) Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do so he can not feel left out and enjoy being outside?

If he's wearing appropriate shoes and his pants are of strong denim he'll be well protected from cuts and scrapes. In any case an occasional scrape isn't going to kill him, its just a normal risk of being a kid. If the yard is kept clean, broken glass doesn't rain out of the sky so maybe you're worrying just a bit too much?

His chair can't go all over the yard, so what do I do?

Either the chair or the yard must change - one or the other is faulty.

He also broke his femur a few mos back because he jumped out of his chair onto his legs one too many times.

Only one fracture in 8 years, that's pretty good going! Just file it under "sh#t happens" and move on.

I've also talked to him about taking care of his body til I'm blue in the face :)

Good, you're doing your job as his mother. You're doing well, but you could do with a little less worrying or the stress is going to harm you.
Sometimes you just have to relax and let go a little, let him do what he has to do - just be an 8 year old boy.

Any suggestions are wonderful!

I hope I've done ok with this post?

Enjoy your kid,
He has Spina bifida, not Osteogenesis imperfecta or Hemophilia.

[angel]

I have to agree with dodger on this one as well. He is a kid and part of being a kid is bumps, scrapes, cuts, and sometimes broken bones. Those things heal in very little time. The scars from being held back from being a normal kid will stick with him for the rest of his life. It will affect him im far more severe ways than anything he can do to himself physically.
As for his pants that is not his issue so you don't need to make it his issue. If you can find a way to keep them up great. He will come to be more self concious of things like that but right now he just wants to play. That is what he should be doing.

Angel

[jeannemarkowski]

I am very relaxed and realize that he is a boy, but when he's caught with his pants on the ground and diaper showing and kids laughing, then it bothers me.
I am a regular on EBAY looking for overalls in his size, but it's getting harder and harder. I've even taken the ones I can find to a seamstress and had padding put in the knees. You can ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I'm not one of those Moms who baby my boys because of their Spina Bifida, I just don't want kids to continue to make fun of him because of his diaper showing.

[Dodger67]

You asked how to make him stay in his chair, prevent him from playing on the ground.
You did not ask how to keep his pants up when he plays on the ground.

The way you ask a question or describe a problem gives away a lot about your attitude to the issue. That's why I responded the way I did.

So the short version of the answer is that you need some help to find or make suitable pants. :dance2:

[jeannemarkowski]

I didn't know if anyone out there might of enjoyed a four wheeler or if they made any special outdoor chairs. As for the break, I realize that breaks do happen, but I would prefer for him to let it heal, so he doesn't have to go through another surgery since it was in the growth plate.

[Dodger67]

Yes, outdoor chairs are available, with fat knobby tyres for rough & tough go anywhere little boys.
Summer is the wheelchair expert here, I'll send her a note to ask her to join in this conversation.
Then I'm off to bed, its almost pumpkin time here!
G'night all!

[Gymp]

Good answers Roger....Hehe...I remember being a kid too,thank goodness my Mom couldn't see us most of the time when we were out,she'd of had a heart attack with some of the shenanigans we were up to.Boys l' be Boys.

Gymp

[angel]

Try suspenders. That might help and what i did with my son when he was still wearing diapers i put boxer shorts on top of them. That way when his pants fell they saw the boxers and thought nothing of it. From having lived with SB myself you learn some tricks and none of his friends ever knew he wore them.

Angel

[Summer25]

The only wheelchair that I can think of is like an all terrian wheelchair. Big casters in the front and tires in the back. Um I believe Invacare has one. http://www.sportaid.com/allterrain-chairs/ Those are what I can really think of from a chair stand point.

[Ziggy]

When I'm trying to find something unusual, google is my friend... my nephews (8 and 11) wear overalls when helping on their grandpa's ranch. My SIL bys them online, wherever she finds the best price, or sometimes from Tractor Supply Company? They have shops in OK, TX, and OH, not sure if they're where you are. But farm stores would be a great place to try.


I like the boxers suggestion.

And I don't think Dodger was trying to be harsh, though I see how it could come across incorrectly from both sides of the discussion. I think it's hard to communicate effectively in writing at times to show the true motivation behind a post/question/response at times!

[Dodger67]

I put these words into Google: denim bib overalls boys
Got well over a million hits, so they are very widely available.
Customising them with some extra protection over the knees is an excellent idea! :11a:
How about leather patches over a bit of quilting?


Now the problem of getting him to give his injury time to heal is a difficult one for an active little boy.
Unfortunately parenting is not one of my skills - I'm just the uncle! :sign0020:
:help:Has anyone got ideas for Jeanne - short of chaining him to his chair or locking him indoors for 6 weeks!:6775:

[Dodger67]

How about an all-terrain handcycle, are they available in kids sizes?

[Summer25]

How about an all-terrain handcycle, are they available in kids sizes?

Yea Quickie and Invacare both have hand crank bikes. I just got an invacare and love it.

[Dodger67]

Thats cool, but you are twenty-something years old - the kid is only 8.

[n3rdchik]

I have an 8 year old who has "discovered" D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) and strategy games like "Empire Builder" and "Settlers of Catan". He is a geek after his parents' hearts. I would try to keep him busy doing fun activities, games, models.

He is going to have to blow off energy though.... Is there a track or fun wheelchair activity he could do?

[Summer25]

Thats cool, but you are twenty-something years old - the kid is only 8.

And they come in children sizes.

[Dee1971]

In the UK there is a chair called Dragon which is designed for kids that they can do everything that other kids do. here is a couple of websites that show the chair and the history of the chair.

http://www.dragonmobility.com/
http://www.daneverard.co.uk/mobility/dragon.php
Dee

[jeannemarkowski]

Thanks everyone so much for the replies and the suggestions. My four year old with SB just had rods put in and his incision has been infected, so I haven't been on, but I will check all these out! Thanks again!