A little planning makes it easier to have a sick child at home

By By Michelle Blaylock, Mom’s Corner
OK, today I’ve had to do two loads of laundry, finish sewing the curtains, do a little baking for the kids snacks this week. Oh yeah, I have to call the doctor and schedule that appointment and I can’t forget to. . .”
It always amazes me what I can cut from my very important and busy schedule when one of my children is ill or injured. Of course, our first reaction as mommies is to make them feel all better. Unfortunately, it usually isn’t that easy and more often than not we simply have to “wait it out.”
Over Thanksgiving one year one of my “babies” had to have her tonsils taken out. Her recovery had to be some of the longest two weeks of my life. I felt so sorry for her and yet I couldn’t make it all better — at least not as fast as she wanted! I know in the long run it was the best thing, but still that two weeks just about drove me to distraction.
So just what do you do when your kids are ill, uncooperative, and just plain unhappy? Well, my first recommendation is pray. No, seriously pray for their recovery and your patience and sanity! Although, that may sound as if I’m trying to be funny, I do mean it in all seriousness. Prayer will help you get through a day that is constantly interrupted,
Next, I recommend always having a few surprises stored for such times. I try to watch for things to go on sale after holidays and such. For example, after holidays you can almost always find coloring books and activity books related to the holiday on sale. So in April when your child has that wonderful “spring cold” you can pull out the Halloween activity book. The novelty of doing Halloween things in April is fun. I also try to watch for small toys to go on sale and set them back for “sick days.”
Crafts are another great way to entertain a “sickie.” I find giving a child craft materials and letting them decide what to do with it can be entertaining and helps build imagination. In our crafts, I keep things like craft sticks (Popsicle sticks), beads, yarn, small cross stitch designs, embroidery floss, markers, pens, paper, small pieces of cardboard, etc. A small caddy with sections is ideal for this.
This is also a wonderful time to look back to things you did when you were little. Remember when we used to take a sheet of paper and color one side of it as dark as possible; then lay it on another sheet and draw a picture on the back transferring the color to the bottom sheet like carbon paper? Speaking of coloring, what about all those broken crayons? Try this, take a small can like a tuna can that is washed and aired very well. Fill the can about two-thirds full with broken crayons. Set it on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven at about 200 degrees until the crayons melt. Take it out of the oven and let cool completely. Now you have multi-colored crayons! This is a great time to explore mixing colors. Swirl patterns can be created by using an old knife to slightly mix the melted crayons. Obviously, this is a “with adult help only” activity,
My next biggest problem after boredom is getting an ill child to eat or drink. Most doctors tell you to make sure they get plenty of fluids, yeah right!! Since you can’t really force a child to drink, the next best thing is to trick them into it. My children generally complain that their drinks get “watery” and they don’t like the taste. Well, you can’t blame them on that one. The way I solved this one was to take Kool-Aid and make it up stronger (don’t add as much water) then freeze it in ice cube trays. These work great when added to a cup of Kool-Aid as the ice melts the drink isn’t diluted. You can also add these cubes to soda to give a little pizzazz to it. It also works well to fill sippy cups half full and then freeze them then add the regular Kool-Aid on top. I also recently read an idea of putting Jello jigglers in clear soda. I haven’t tried this one, but I have heard the kids have a blast with it.
What about snacks? I’ve found taking a six cup muffin tin and putting little snacks in each cup gives the child variety and lets him or her have a choice as to what to eat when! I’ve also taken cookie cutters and cut food into different shapes just to make it more fun. Like toast for instance, toast the bread like usual then cut into whatever shape you want. I’ve used stars, pumpkins, gingerbread people, and a whole bunch of others!
I’ve found when I just take a deep breath and decide that today I’m going to not worry about my “have tos” and I’m going to look at a “sick” day as a day to spend time with my “baby.” I find the day goes so much better. The phrase “and this too shall pass” is a good way to think about it. I find my attitude about the day reflects on my children. If I treat the day as a total waste and a major inconvenience, then the kids will feel that they have been a “problem.” Having ill children is a part of having children, so the best thing to do is plan for it and make it as pleasant (well, maybe survivable is a better word) as possible.
If you have something to share please e-mail it to: moms-corner@juno.com