Helping your kids through sickness

Winter is here….and along with Game of Thrones, cold and flu is here too! For some of us having one sick child could mean a whole round of sickness as each family member falls prey one after the other. So how do you stay calm while you help your kids get through their sickness?

It sounds difficult but having a sickness routine has helped my family. We have a bunch of things that are only brought out when a child is sick.

Gastro bucket

Fever cushion

Weepy blanket

Hydration cup

Pebbles the peaky bunny

When my kids see these items they know they have fallen sick and what to expect now. The idea is to provide cues for certain kind of behaviour (lying down and resting, expecting medicines, not having the usual food). They are also reminded that no matter how awful they feel right now, they have beaten their sickness in the past and can do it again. This helps reduce anxiety. There are a number of other things that can help your child when they are sick too.

Things to do while they are sick

Along with these special items, we have a bunch of books to go through about what germs do to your body and what our body does to get rid of them. It's a good time for some anatomy lessons. Germs make me sick by Melvin Berger and A Germ’s Journey by Thom Rooke are excellent books.

One thing that I have found very helpful in this latest episode of sickness is a fidget cube. Unlike an iPad, it does not strain the eyes but keeps the little person busy while they lie down.

And last but not least, we make get well soon cards for the sick family member. Everyone joins in in this fun activity and children love getting cards from their siblings or parents.

At the end of the bout, we do something special. This can be anything like getting a sweet treat or playing a special game. For us, it is usually baking a special cake. This gives the kids something to look forward to even when they are sick. When I was little I always used to get a special drink when I was sick. I don’t know if that drink actually helped with getting better or not but it certainly improved my attitude towards sickness and brought in some positivity.

These tips will not make the fever fly away but they might make it a little less unbearable. Soldier on!