Fun Peds Accessories

[doctorE2010]

I'm starting my peds rotation in a few weeks and am pretty sure I want to go into this field. I wanted to get some cute/ fun accessories that the kids might like and keep them entertained during the exam (and so that they'll be less aware of the scary person in the white coat trying to mess with them!)--a couple of the things I've seen (like stethoscope covers) are a soft plush material--is this a bad idea for germ contamination/ spread since it can't be disinfected from one patient to another? They're so cute though! I've found some stuff by Pedia Pals like animal pens, fun tongue depressors, character clips etc--just wondering if many people have any of these accessories and where is a god place to find them 🙂 Also, what tricks should I keep in my pockets to distract kids? bubbles? stickers?

Thanks!

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[TexasRose]

A friend of mine has this cute toy cow on a box that falls over when you push the button on the bottom. Kid love to "blow the cow over" when she's doing her pulmonary exam or needs to distract them. She never lets the kids touch the toy, so not a germ hazard in that sense.

I think things that clip to your stethescope just makes kids grab it out of your ears when you're trying to listen. 😉 Stickers are good, if you don't mind the investment. Sometimes a tongue depressor with a smiley face drawn on it works well, too.

 

[riverie]

My friend gave me the PediaPals Jamaal giraffe reflex hammer and let me tell you, it has diffused many a stressful moment for my patients and broken the ice immediately. One kid went from looking like I was a scary evil monster to smiles the minute I pulled it out of my pocket. I sanitize it with alcohol wipes between kids. Most of the time they're so distracted playing with it, I can do my exam without much difficulty. I never use it as a reflex hammer though, because its hard tip is actually pretty painful on tendons!

 

[BigRedBeta]

I second the tongue depressor with a smiley face on it as a surprisingly successful, but great "prop". Just one of the many great little tips I picked up on from a private practice pediatrician during the single week I spent working with him on my peds clerkship. He's been doing it for almost 40 years, so obviously I probably only learned a thousandth of a percent of all the things he could have taught me.

Anyways it works well, they can put it in their mouth without any worries, if they toss it on the floor you can just make another one so they can put it in their mouth again (I did have one kiddo who got very upset with the second smiley face I drew which was was different from the first...I had to make a third one with the original smiley - it was a pretty humorous incident, I must say) and when you're done, you throw it away.

 

[jonb12997]

as was suggested by the pediatrician I worked with during my rotation, staples sells a cheap little clip calculator. It's great because it's small and clips onto your white coat pocket, it's a calculator for figuring mg/kg/dose stuff, and kids often think it's a cell phone, so it's a fun toy... that's what I used, the only problem is getting it away from them. I like the idea of the tongue depressor face thing. =) I'm gonna start using that one

 

[Bernardo_11]

In addition to many of the cool tricks/gadgets noted above, I'd like to lend a couple:

1) Stickers to child's nose- good diversionary tactic during an exam. they stop crying all of the sudden wondering what the hell just popped up on the end of their nose- gives you enough seconds to auscultate those subtle cardiac murmurs.

2) Blow-up glove- it can be hard tying off the bottom though.

Nardo