This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Similasan.
After I became a mama, one of the things I realized pretty quickly is that I like a little structure in our daily routine. I try not to be regimented, but I’m definitely a fan of establishing clear guidelines with our son. Nothing fancy or complicated – just simple stuff like making sure that homework is done before afternoon playtime, limiting video games to the weekends, making sure the dirty clothes go into (and not just in the general vicinity of) the laundry basket, and feeding the dog. And when those guidelines get ignored, I’ve been known to offer some gentle reminders and heartfelt encouragement to OBEY THE RULES, POR FAVOR.
But if there’s anything that gets me off of my let’s-stick-to-the-routine game, it’s seeing our little guy when he doesn’t feel so well. There’s something about a sick child that just turns my heart to mush, and the first time our son got really sick – when he was about one and a half – I turned into some sort of domestic genie. HIS WISH WAS MY COMMAND.
These days – now that he’s a great big first grader – I’m really no different when any sort of illness enters our family equation. I stop short of walking around with an order pad and a pen, but I might as well considering that I pepper him with questions about all the possible things that might make him feel better.
Sprite?
Crackers?
Crushed ice?
Cold rag?
Another episode of Phineas and Ferb?
Another 16 episodes of Phineas and Ferb?
Another blanket?
A brand new car on your 16th birthday?
YOU BETCHA.
Last year our little guy was sick for about a week with the flu, and the first few days of it just broke my heart. He was so lethargic, so not-at-all-himself, and all we could do to help him was to give him ibuprofen and lots of liquids. He stayed in one spot on the couch for two solid days, and I couldn’t walk past him without reaching down to feel his little forehead. We just couldn’t get that fever to break.
Bless him.
On the third or fourth day, though, things got tricky. He started feeling pretty good – but that high fever continued to linger. So while he really seemed to think that he could run circles around the house, his temperature indicated otherwise. And we had to find ways to keep him entertained that wouldn’t interfere with getting him well.
We watched “Finding Nemo” about nine times, played cards, battled through some Connect Four marathons and read more books than I could count. I bought the markers that you can use to draw on window panes, then quickly realized that I was going to be scrubbing them off of my windows for THE REST OF MY LIFE and decided to haul out all our coloring books instead. Our little boy loves mazes, and he blazed through every single maze he could get his hands on. We gave the no-Wii-during-the-week rule a temporary hiatus and let him play to his heart’s content (as long as he was sitting down and not imitating all of Mario’s awesome jump moves).
And do you know what? The last part of that week was just the sweetest time. A sick child has a way of putting life back into crystal clear perspective, and I found myself being much more mindful of our blessings as a family. When that fever FINALLY broke on day seven, I was relieved, no doubt about it – and I was also very grateful for the sweet memories that we’d made in the midst of some unexpected circumstances.
So what about you? What are some things you do with the kids in your life when they’re under the weather? How do you make the days a little more fun and bearable for them? Leave a comment with your answer, and you’ll be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card courtesy of BlogHer.
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Thanks for participating, everybody!
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I give them plenty of water and orange juice. I also let them rest all day and watch tv.
seven up, toast, chicken soup and love.
Thanks for the contest.
blogged: http://slehan.blogspot.com/2010/11/win-100-from-similasan.html
We do lots of snuggling, Emergen-C, lukewarm baths for fever, steamy rooms for stuffy noses, and Kidz Tea for extra antioxidents!
Emily
familyandlifeinlv at gmail dot com
Definitely get them nice and comfy on the couch with books or their favorite movie. Bring them soup and crackers and some pedialyte…and some sweets too unless their stomach is upset.
We make a “sick bed” on the couch and there is usually lots of tv time and cuddling with some good confort food thrown in too.
My wife does a lot of the nurturing when the kids are sick, to be honest. But I will read to them, and watch movies. When they feel well enough to start playing videogames, that’s the signal that they are feeling better.
tweet
http://twitter.com/lpauld68/status/4612718417936384
Thanks!
My son has severe asthma, so sick days have become a routine of their own. I fix a “bed” on the couch with blankets and pillows, and help him get as comfortable as possible. Usually he wants just water, but occasionally, I’ll give him Diet 7Up or Sprite. I give him food to graze on rather than big meals, as he can sometimes have trouble with his stomach. He loves movies, so we keep plenty handy to help pass the time.
Tweeted you!
http://twitter.com/Ida_Sessions/status/4698775687790592
Juice, lots of blankets, cartoons and soup! :)
Tweet: http://twitter.com/lipstickncandy/status/5045879136321536
Lots of hugs, snuggling, and rest time!
I tweeted your giveaway!
http://twitter.com/#!/megans_madness/status/5081713143193600
Sick days means lying on the couch with their favorite blanket and watch movies. I make sure there is a drink on the coffee table or some hot soup
TV, fluids and lots of lying in the couch!
Chicken soup, blankies, lots of tissues with aloe and watching videos
My “kid” is 21, but she has a serious health condition, so I still get to do this. We spend oodles of time figuring out what she feels like eating and I go get it. I bring her movies and video games and just sit and talk.
Tweet
http://twitter.com/jillyrh/status/5398761966669824
Thanks
I hug them and hold them. They’re offered popsicles, jello, and 7-Up. and, I pray with them and for them to feel better soon.
Lots of cuddle time on the couch, Lady and the Tramp on TV and lots of crushed ice. While I hate seeing them uncomfortable, I also enjoy the snuggle time.
They get to spend the day on the couch, totally in control of the TV, being waited on hand and foot!
Same here- Gatorade or Sprite, saltines, lots of movies, card games and reading. It can be heaven…for awhile!
Lots and lots of movies. All day long. And lots of playing with cars. :)
Lots of cuddles and cartoons!
My daughter is almost twenty so she goes to bed and watches tv and texts me with anything she needs.
lots of mom time, movies and what ever they request to eat (within reason) :)
Ginger ale, crackers, lounging on the couch, and lots of TLC are the prescription when our household gets sick.
when my niece is sick, we lay in bed and watch movies. among them, finding nemo and lately it’s been the new tinkerbell movie. (she had a bug last week.) loaded up on gatorade and ginger ale ate saltines, but she really just wanted popsicles.
as i write this, she is calling my sister (her mom) ‘daddy’ because she is now lizzie and tinkerbell is reading a book about otters.
glad being sick didn’t affect her sense of humor.
xo
When my kids were younger, it was lots of snuggling, books, TV and sprite.
We are a chicken soup, Zesta cracker, and sweet tea on a tv tray kind of family when we are sick. We get into our stash of Disney dvds and watch till the fever knocks us out. If it’s not a stomach virus, we watch the “Hoarders” episodes on the dvr. Can’t watch that show if you feel even the eensiest bit nauseous, or it makes it worse.
Lots of rest is what works best for my kids.
Orange sherbet, gingerale, and lots and lots of TV.
We are like many of the others and rarely have sickness here, but my 6 yr old was sick with a virus last week that left her completely lethargic, we spent 3 days drinking gatorade, watching movies, and just hanging out.
It’s snuggle time! We love to sit with a movie, pile of blankets and a good book. Time to slow down and feel better.
juice/gatorade/water, soups and other comfort foods…just whatever their stomach can take.
watching movies on the floor in their sleeping bags.
lots of snuggle time.