'Real' nurse's kit for toddler play?

twotrees2 · Sep 3, 2006

My daughter's second birthday is coming up, and a few days later I start nursing school. :) I got my Littmann recently and I let her 'use' it and she loved it. Not even really in her ears, but she thought it was so fun, and wanted to play with it all the time so I had to put it away! For her birthday I was thinking of getting her one of those toy nurse's kits. But then I was wondering if it would be more fun to have the 'real' thing. There are some super-cheap stethoscopes out there, and I even saw a BP cuff that came in kid-like patterns. Would this be fun, or should I just stick to the cheap toy store kind? What other kind of items could I give her?
ETA: Also, would a real cuff be safe? I could buy the adult size as she'd be doing it on us, and it would be too big for her to hurt herself.

well keep the littmen high - kids will be kids- LOL mine went thorugh 2 very expensive litmans - sigh - i finally got them thier own cheapies as you escribed - they have no blood pressure cuff - but they have "used " mine on me or others with my help. they alos have several syringes and bandages etc - ( no needles on syringes of course lol) and usually only play with the stethascope - fun to hear bowel sounds and heart beat etc -

twotrees2 · Sep 3, 2006

I would not buy a real stethascope for for a 2 year old. There are little parts that might come off such as the ear pieces that usually have a plastic end that can screw off. they could cause a choking hazard. I would stick to the play nurse kits (there are pleanty out there that are more age-appropriate.)
If she is still interested by age 10 or so, then a cheap littman would not be out of the question. Good luck in school.

gads never thought of that stuff - well - my boys made it without choking - it wasnt in thier toys boxes - that stuff is kept in a special doctor" bag fo rthem - kept by my "nurses bag' - they still play with it all the time - at 7 and 9 :)

twotrees2 · Sep 3, 2006

Isn't it funny how little kids love to play nurse/doctor, but then when you need to take them there they hate it :) My 4 year old neice came to my house once and I let her play with a cheapy stethoscope I have and some other stuff that I had from nursing school, like specimen cups, gloves, and an irrigation set. I didnt let her put the earpieces in though, we just pretended by putting it around her neck. SHe screamed her head off when they had to leave becuase she was having so much fun. The one thing I did notice about how dangerous playing with that steth was that she was swinging it around and if you get hit with that thing, ouch!!! I am thinking for Christmas or birthday I will get her a play set. She had a blast playing.

my oldest loved being at the docs ( think it had to do with the nurses roflmao cause he HATES anything to do with medical now - except the nurses hahaha ) anyhow- when he was little getting immunizations - the other 3 had to be held down by 3 people lol - not him - he played "try to catch the needle" hahaha. we would have to hold his hands tight or he'd try to poke himself with it ( he did the first time lol - never cried a bit - after that we knew wed best keep those hands busy lol. )