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Getting Sick of Kids Getting Sick
We are deep into the season of bugs, germs and viruses. In the last three weeks I have had at least one kid home sick every other day. What exactly are parents supposed to do when they need to both work, and look after sick kids?
We are luckier than most families, since I work at home and therefore don’t need to take sick days from work. The flip side of this, of course, is that I’m always the one to stay home with the kids and as a result my work takes a hit. It’s at times like this that all of the good parenting manuals are thrown right out of the window. Of course, if one of the kids feels terribly ill then they need to be in bed, and we have to go through the usual routine of cleaning up after them, helping them feel better if they’ve been throwing up, and all of the other glamorous and exciting tasks that nobody ever mentions before you become a parent!
But as often as not young kids get mild illnesses that simply leave them feeling under the weather. Nothing awful, nothing scary, just not quite 100%. And for us work-at-home parents, the answer to that dilemma is the television. When my kids are home sick they get drugged into a TV-induced coma if that’s what it takes for them to feel happy, and for me to be able to get a little work done.
Now, when possible, I do try and avoid just subjecting them to the endless parade of drivel on cable TV. We have a pretty good library of DVDs, and so we’re likely to put in a classic musical or a comedy and let them catch up on some of the great movies they’ve never seen. For instance, as I write this blog post my younger child is sleepily watching Singing in the Rain, one of the great classics of 20th-century cinema. As for me, I’m sitting next to him on the couch, typing away at my laptop so that I can least pretend that I’m getting some work done.
This is the second day he’s been home sick and, quite honestly, if it was a normal day at school I probably would have sent him. But today his class has a field trip to a local archaeological site; they have quite a long hike and are then going to be walking through an underground tunnel that used to carry water to a nearby town. Great fun, obviously, and it’s a shame he has to miss it. But he called home from school yesterday with a bad stomach-ache and fever, and within five minutes of getting home he was throwing up. He feels better now, but assuming he’s still on the mend it really is a foolish idea to send him off on a hike where he will get tired, cold and wet,
So, instead of walking in the water he’s Singing in the Rain!
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9 Responses to “Getting Sick of Kids Getting Sick”
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Thank you for your lovely comments at my blog. And thanks for stopping by. Speaking of germs and sick kids, my oldest started throwing up last night and is home sick today.
Now I just have to hope my other 2 (or myself) don’t get it. Have a great week!
i hope he’s feeling a lot better now. i like your idea of watching dvd’s and listening to music can be very relaxing and make them feel a lot better
thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
take care.
With 5 kids, 4 of which are in school, I can tell you the diseases fly through our house. It doesn’t matter what you do. Kids are just little petri dishes cultivating each new strand of bacteria that comes around.
Good luck and I hope everyone feels better. Thanks for the comment. I like what you have here. I’ll definitely be back to read more.
wow, lovely pics here c: am a parent too c:
Hi Ari,
It works 
Thanks for stopping by my site. Just visited yours and it’s lovely. Very pretty with good articles.
My son (almost 1) is sick as well and has to inhale a medicine with a horrible tube. He hates it and just cries and wriggles. As a mom that kills you cause you just want to take all the hurt and pain away from them. So now I have a cold too
hi! I hope your kid feeling better now. I have two kids..one is sick (and im sick with her sikness too)..how I wish her asthma would go and wont come back again.. my 2mons old daughter is fine and I hope and pray that she will be healthy always. I don;t know how to deal with sickness as far as my children are concern.
Thanks for the visit..and i like your site here
Thanks everyone for stopping by.
@Mindful Mimi: Have you tried using a nebulizer? One of our kids is asthmatic, and when he was little we would use a mask on his face to give him the medicine to stop his wheezing.
Also, if the baby doesn’t like using a mask … wait till nap time, and then just hold the tube under his/her nose and let the medicine do its work while they sleep.
@ Twerlyn; I know how scary asthma can be; so long as you have a good doctor who’s willing to keep experimenting with different drugs and different dosages, it is possible to control it. Both my son and I are asthmatic, and so long as we use our medicines regularly the asthma is well-controlled.
Very sensible to keep him inside. I love your blog. It’s the first time I’ve seen it and am adding it to my blogroll.
Teach them to wash their hands properly and often. Teach them to use paper towels to touch the faucet handles and door handles to restrooms. Teach them to avoid sugar, which looks like vitamin C to a white blood cell, and will deplete their immune system. Teach them to avoid touching their mouths and eyes. Teach them to avoid touching other people and other people’s stuff. These simple measures will nearly eliminate colds and flu.