What is worse than having a sick kid at home for 10 days and feeling totally demoralized because you can’t really help them .
After starting daycare, my son has gotten sick very often lately I find the colds and sicknesses have lasted longer and gotten worse. The common cold, no longer last one week, and usually always develops into something more.
I think what makes you feel the worst is that you can’t really help them other than console and try to make the best of their day, even though they feel like crap.
For the common cold, yes you can help sooth them with tylenol and cleaning their nose but still. When it comes to some thing like Gastro that is on another level, puking and diarrhoea can last a few days and you panic to keep them hydrated and hope they can recoup sooner than later.
Even though the days might seem like forever, know that they will get better, after 3 weeks in a row of sicknesses in my family I was about to give up and go hide in a corner and never come out. But it finally passed and now I am crossing my fingers nothing like that ever comes back into my house.
Here are a few tricks, that can help you
- SLEEP: Let them sleep as much as they want, sleep it helps them heal.
- Encourage them to rest but also try to get them up and moving a little bit each day to prevent muscle weakness.
- HYDRATION: Keep sippy cups of water everywhere around the house and offer water every 15 minutes to make sure they stay hydrated.
- JUICE: Apple juice is very good. ( you can dilute it with water)
- FOOD: Offer dry foods such as crackers, make a chicken noodle soup if they like it, bland white rice, a toast, banana and plain rice cakes.
- Go buy Pedialyte, Popsicles, and or liquid in case you will need it.
- Keep them busy by playing with them or doing little activities that don’t overexert their energy .
- Set up a cozy space for them with their favorite blankets and stuffed animals to make them comfortable.
- Use a humidifier in their room to help with congestion.
- Use saline drops to help with congestion
- Keep in touch with their doctor to monitor their symptoms and make sure they’re getting the care they need.
Remember to take care of yourself too. It can be emotionally exhausting to care for a sick child, so take breaks when needed and ask for help if you need it.
