Cold and flu season is here, and it’s just a reality that kids get sick a lot (which can be really stressful for parents). Today, I’ll help you manage when kids are sick at home. 

While taking care of sick kids is a part of parenting, it is also a big disruption to your life. And if they’re not sleeping well, it can be pretty exhausting, too. In this episode, I’m sharing ways to manage your mind and energy when kids are sick, how to create a sick day plan and what to do with them while they’re home. 

Before we really get into it, there are a few thoughts that I think really help when your kids are sick at home. 

Thought #1: This is normal. As I researched this episode, I came across a statistic that small children routinely get 8 to 10 colds or viruses per year. That's nearly 1 per month! I don’t share this to worry you, but to let you know that it is totally normal for your kids to get sick (and it does get better as they get older). 

Thought #2: It is not your fault that your kid is sick. It's not because you're not a good mom. It's not because you aren't feeding them right or they're not good about handwashing. Even in a “perfect” scenario, kids are going to get sick sometimes.

Thought #3: You are not powerless. You may not have control over the timing of your kid’s sickness, but you are not powerless in how you handle it. 

Manage Your Mindset When Kids Are Sick

There are two parts that are frustrating when it comes to having a sick kid at home: The disruption to your routine and the exhaustion and energy drain.

You are entitled to feel that frustration, but I don’t want you to stay stuck there. 

There are strategies you can use to manage your mind and feel better about the situation when your kid is sick at home. 

Adjust your schedule

Maybe you have a big meeting at work, plans with a friend or a doctor’s appointment on the calendar. Look at the calendar and see what you can be rescheduled or put off to make the next few days as simple as possible.

Shift your priorities

Imagine a Ferris Wheel. Each bucket or seat holds some part of your life - physical health, mental health, social life, hobbies, work, your kids, etc. 

When things are flowing and the Ferris Wheel is turning, everything has a place and moves along beautifully. But there are also times (like when the Ferris Wheel is loading or unloading) when things stop, and only the bucket at the top is getting the good view. 

When your kid is sick, for instance, you aren’t going to be able to take care of ALL the other things on the Ferris Wheel. I like to remind myself that the things at the bottom of the Ferris Wheel are still there and that I trust myself to get back to them once the wheel is turning again.

Remember, this is a temporary adjustment. When your kid is feeling better, you can readjust your priorities again and do a little catch-up.

Lower your standards

You probably have some rhythms and routines around the things that are important to you. As a mom, you take care of a lot of things. And there are times when you can't take care of them all.

Maybe you only allow your kid to sleep in their own bed, and they want to sleep with you. Maybe you have rules around screentime, but you decide it’s okay for them to lay and watch Daniel Tiger all day when they’re sick. Or they don’t have much of an appetite and don’t eat their vegetables. 

Changing the routine for a few days is okay! You can still set boundaries around what they’re watching etc., but know that it’s an unusual circumstance that won’t last forever.

Rest when they rest

When your kid is first sick, they might nap a lot or want to snuggle up with you more than usual. You do not need to spend this time running around and trying to get a bunch of stuff done. 

Taking care of a sick kid is not easy. It’s work. Rest so that you can have patience with them. Rest so you can keep yourself healthy. 

Use the 3 Rs to regulate your nervous system

What we really want to avoid is you dumping all of your frustration and fatigue onto your kid. Compassion fatigue is real, so you have to work extra hard at regulating your nervous system and stress response so that you have the capacity to keep showing up for them. 

Rhythm: Move your body. Do a little stretching or a workout. Put on some music and dance. Get your energy up and out of your body.

Relationship: Talk or vent to your partner, friend or family member. Get some emotional support.

Reward: Get a little dopamine hit. Sometimes getting a small task done can make you feel good, but make sure you’re doing it with the intention of helping yourself (not just powering through a to-do list).

Get a break if you can

Take a break to shower, lay down, go for a walk, meet up with a friend, etc. If you have a partner, ask for their help so that you can step away from nursing duty for a little while. Be clear and communicate your need for support. Then follow through.

Often, moms (especially stay-at-home moms) think it’s our job to be on duty ALL the time. But if you have a partner, it is their job to take care of their child, too. They might say no, but it is still important to invite them to participate in that parenting with you. 

Prepare For When Kids Are Sick at Home

Being prepared can help us feel less overwhelmed when things get thrown off. Here are a few simple ways to be ready for the next time your kid is sick.

Create a sick day kit

This doesn’t have to be super Pinterest-y. It’s meant to be practical. Keep this kit in its own bin or bag and away from kids - sick days only!

Some ideas of things to put in your kit are new coloring or activity books, stickers, a new stuffed animal, puzzle, craft kits, fresh Play Doh, a “sick day” cup, bath bomb or special snacks. You’ll also want a box of Kleenex, throat lozenges for older kids and medicines like Tylenol. A humidifier, throw-up bucket and plastic bags are also good to have on hand.

Make a sick day plan

Decide with your partner in advance who will take care of the kids if they are sick. How many days is that parent expected to take care of the kid? Is there a point when the other parent will need to tap in? It’s usually not realistic for this to be completely equal, but there should be some sort of balance so that it feels respectful of both people.

If you aren’t partnered, or your partner is not able to take time off, think outside the box about how you can get a little extra support from another family member, neighbor, babysitter etc. Even just someone who can come over while your kid is napping so you can take a shower. 

Talk to your supervisor and colleagues at work about what will happen if you need to stay home with sick kids. Can you make a plan to work remotely or create some other backup plan?

Think about activities for sick days

These are meant to be activities you can do while your kids are sick that aren’t exhausting for you. A few ideas:

• Make a pillow fort (it also gives them a cozy little place to rest)
• Have a bubble bath
• Have a tea party
• Do a simple craft
• Watch a movie together
• Serve breakfast or lunch in bed
• Play a board game or cards
• FaceTime relatives
• Sit outside on a blanket if the weather is nice (or just look out your window at cars going by, birds, clouds, etc.)
• Go for a walk 

The last day of illness is the worst day. They’re too sick to go to school, but they’re not sick enough to rest all day. You’re also probably a little worn by this point, but if you let them watch TV all day, they get wild. 

This is the day you go for a walk or to the park. Run a couple of errands. Start having them catch up on school work they missed. You can start to treat it like a normal day with more normal rhythms and limits. 

Maybe you can even celebrate a little because, deep down in your heart, you know they're going to school the next day, and you're almost done!

I hope these tips help you feel prepared as we head into the winter season and all the gunk that comes with it. It's okay to take care of your kids and yourself if you're sick. And it’s easier to manage when you have a plan. 

You’ll Learn:

• 3 thoughts to help you calm yourself when your kids are sick at home
• 6 tips to adjust to kids being home sick
• Why life is like a Ferris Wheel
• How to create a simple sick day kit to have at the ready
• Conversations to have as you create your sick day plan

Free Resources:

Get your copy of the Stop Yelling Cheat Sheet!

In this free guide you’ll discover:

✨ A simple tool to stop yelling once you’ve started (This one thing will get you calm.)

✨ 40 things to do instead of yelling. (You only need to pick one!)

✨ Exactly why you yell. (And how to stop yourself from starting.)

✨A script to say to your kids when you yell. (So they don't follow you around!)

Download the Stop Yelling Cheat Sheet here

Connect With Darlynn: 

• Book a complimentary session with Darlynn
• Learn about the different parenting programs at www.calmmamacoaching.com
• Follow me on Instagram @darlynnchildress for daily tips 
• Rate and review the podcast on Itunes

Welcome to Become a Calm Mama. I am your

host. My name is Darlyn Childress, and I am a life and

parenting coach. And today, I am going to help

you manage when kids are sick.

The flu season, cold season, we're sort of

already in it, but it is just going to amplify. This

episode is coming out in November. It's just a reality

that kids get sick a lot. I was doing some

research for this podcast episode, and I came across this

statistic that says that small children

routinely get 8 to 10 colds or

viruses per year. That's nearly 1 per month.

I wanna start out by just normalizing. This is a

reality that Your children are going to have

illnesses. They're going to get viruses. They're gonna get colds. They're gonna get flus. They're

gonna get diarrhea. They're gonna have vomiting. You know? They're This is

just a part of parenting. It is a hard part

of parenting. It means a lot of disruption in your life.

It's exhausting because often they don't kids don't sleep well when

they are sick. That keeps you awake, so you're tired.

You might end up getting sick. There is something

about, I think, just letting you know that this is part of it. It's

Norma. It's kinda like how I talk about big feeling cycles, how they happen, and

that's just what kids have big feelings. They don't know what to do with them,

and they come out through behavior. They come out through meltdowns and temper tantrums.

And I think knowing that something It's normal

that something happens is going to be

helpful to you. So I want you to kind of create

the The understanding that that this is going to happen

acknowledge that your kids are gonna be home sick, and it's not

because you're not a good mom. It's not because you

aren't feeding them right or, you know, they're you're not good at

hand washing or whatever. Even perfection, even, like, the

most perfect family rhythm routine, good handwashing,

all of the, You know, we got the vitamins, and we got the spinach, and

we got, you know, all the right food. And everything is, like, fixed pan perfect,

which is impossible anyway, but say you did it, Your kids would still get

colds, so it's not your fault. And,

you're not powerless in how you handle it. You

are powerless over the timing. Like, the timing isn't in your

control, but how you manage illness is

within your power, is within your control. So I wanna give

you some sort of, I guess, mindset strategies to help

you Just feel better about when your kids are

sick. Like, how do you think about it? How are you supposed to feel about

it? How do you get out of the frustration and overwhelm?

What happens, I think, is there's 2 parts that are so

frustrating about having sick kids. 1 is the disruption.

Say you had plans that day. Right? Maybe you had to go to work. Maybe

you have a big thing at at work that day, or you have, you

know, some sort of plan with with friends or with family, or or you were

going to take your mom to the doctor. Like, it's not or you had a

hair appointment or, you know, you are finally gonna get that Pap smear that

you haven't had for, like, you know, 18 months or whatever. And then

now your kid's sick, and it's just so frustrating

because your mind is like, now I'm not able to do

that. I'm gonna have to add that in my schedule again, and we

just feel very frustrated by the disruption because we

typically have plans for while our kids are at school,

either work plans or personal life stuff. Right? And our personal

life is for them. Our work is still for them. So

It it's just frustrating. The second thing that's really hard about

having your kids home sick is that it it's just

exhausting. They are so Needy. 1 of

my kids really didn't like having a fever, and he would almost have a meltdown

about his fever because he didn't understand what was happening to his body.

And it he you know, because he had sensory processing stuff. So it was just

so overwhelming to soothe him and treat the

fever. Right? They're miserable, and they

so uncomfortable, and they want support. They want solutions, and you don't

really have a solution. It is just illness. So being

frustrated about the disappointment and being frustrated

about what is in store for you isn't going to

help you. I want you to feel entitled to that

frustration, but I don't want you to stay stuck there. Part of life

coaching It's really acknowledging our feelings, acknowledging

our frustrations, and then doing some thought

Work or body work to get ourselves into a different

state of mind and a different emotional experience. So this

is some of the strategies I wanna offer to you about how to

shift. Okay? So the first thing I want

to Talk about is that disruption thing.

Like, that feeling of, oh my god. I have all I had I had this

plan. Now I'm not gonna be able to do it. Maybe they're really sick, and

they're at home for 2, 3 days. And your mind's gonna be like, I'm behind

3 days. I haven't been able to do all this stuff. You know?

I'm I'm so overwhelmed. I want you

to think about your life. I've talked about this in the podcast before as a

Ferris wheel. Every year in our town, they

have this big, you know, carnival, and there's this big beautiful Ferris

wheel. And the baskets, the Ferris wheel baskets, you know, hold,

You know, 4 or 5 people or whatever. While you're waiting your turn to get

on the Ferris wheel, you notice that at the bottom, the Ferris wheel

stops. The Ferris wheel stops and allows people to get on

it. And, you know, you're waiting your turn. You get on. And then you

move a little bit, and then the next Group gets on. Right? Their buck their

basket gets filled, and then the Ferris wheel moves again. And now

slowly, you're at the top of the Ferris wheel, and there's still people you're

paused. They're because people at the bottom are getting on and off. So

there's periods of time on the Ferris wheel where you're not really moving very

much, and there's something at the top. Right? There's a

there's a group at the top, and they're like, woo. I get to see the

whole view. This is amazing. Right? And they have kind of the

best of the Ferris wheel experience. Now once they've loaded it

and and it's all loaded up, there's a period of time where the Ferris wheel

is just kinda moving, and everybody gets a chance. Equal

equal chance to be at the top. It's just like the flare Ferris wheel is

flowing. And then, You know? It goes a couple times around. I don't know how

many revolutions, then it stops. And then it's like that whole

getting off. And you Have your time at the top, and

then you wait till you're at the bottom again. This

analogy is really how life is. There are periods

of time where your Ferris wheel is moving. And in each bucket,

there's your mental health. There's your physical health. There's your kids', you know,

social life, Sports, your hobbies,

work, your parents, you know, your extended family, their

needs. You have all of these different buckets in your

life, And when things are flowing, everything

kind of has its place, and it goes to the top of the Ferris wheel.

And you deal with it, and everything moves really beautifully. If you saw my

hand, you would see it's like I'm just kinda flowing my hand in a circle.

I love when life is flowing like that. It's just like Everything

is kind of managed, and everything gets taken care of. There are periods of

time that are like that. There are periods of time

where The Ferris wheel is stopped, and only the things at the

top are being addressed. And so when

your kids are sick, You aren't going to be able

to take care of all of the Ferris wheel. You it's not

spinning. It is paused. It is stopped, and your kids'

Health is at the top, and then your health is like

the buck the basket next to that one. And then maybe,

Like, keeping your house clean or something or, like, keeping food on the table or

whatever is is, like, kind of that whole management piece.

That's it. Maybe you can get to, like, the

sides, but you're not gonna get to the bottom stuff at the time. Right?

You get to adjust your priorities when your kids

are sick. Now if you are sick, then it's

it's really difficult because your you and your kids' priority

Are different. You need to take care of yourself, and you need to take care

of them. That's really challenging. Those are the days when we need someone if we

have someone in our life, we need to ask, hey, Mom.

Hey, aunt. Hey, sister. Hey, husband or

or wife or whoever. I need you to come to my house

and take care of me and risk being sick because I'm I'm out

of my league. So that's when you get someone else to come

in and help take hair of your Ferris wheel.

Adjusting your priorities will help you. And the way I

do that personally is I remember That

the at the bottom of the Ferris wheel, the things that I'm not getting to

at the time, that they're down there, and I can trust myself.

I can trust That once that Ferris wheel gets going, boop,

I'm gonna start back in, and I will put those things back at the priority

list. I will adjust my priorities again and can't do a little

catch up and take care of work or running those errands or

whatever it was that I was gonna do. So, yes, when

your kids are sick, you are going to need to adjust your priorities

for a period of time. It's not forever. It's

just during that, you know, week or so, you know, 3 days,

hopefully, that they are home from school.

Now Besides adjusting your priorities, I

also want you to lower your standards. So you have

beautiful, Hopefully, rhythms and routines and things that are important to

you. You eat well. You get their there's your kids' sleep

is a priority. You know? You make sure they don't have too much green time,

that they go outside. They move their bodies. They have time with their friends. They

do their schoolwork. Right? You're good moms. K? You take care of a lot of

things. And there are times when you can't take care of all those

things. You have to lower your standard. Your kid is

is so overwhelmed with their illness They wanna sleep with you,

and you're like, oh, I can't because otherwise, they're gonna get used to sleeping with

me, and it's gonna be so terrible. I'm gonna have to retrain them.

Okay. You can handle that. You can handle

letting them sleep with you for a couple weeks. Are you sleeping in their, You

know, little toddler bed or whatever. You know? Hopefully, they have a regular sized bed

or you bring in an, you know, an air mattress or something and you sleep

in their room with them. You're not spoiling them. You're not ruining

them. You're not gonna have to, like, you know,

like yeah. You're not spoiling them. People think that. Like, Oh, they're gonna get

used to it, and they're always gonna want me to sleep in here. It's like,

no. They know they're ill. They need support. And when the illness is

over, you can set a boundary. I'm happy to do this once you're

sick, you're well. You can handle sleeping in your room. Yes. You might have a

couple of nights of regression, but you can handle that.

Same with screen time. You have your screen time rules. Wonderful. Beautiful.

But when your kid is sick or you're sick, come on. It's

okay. It's okay if they watch Daniel the Tiger all

day long or whatever it is, blue you know, bluey or whatever

they're into right now. So you can

do that. Now I have this 1 client whose kids really like to watch YouTube.

They like to watch mister beast or something like that. And I watched it. And,

you know, it's like you know, they're like, I don't think this is great. Okay.

You don't have to let them watch stuff that you don't think is good. Like,

you can limit it. You can say you can use this iPad as long as

you're not on YouTube. Right? You can be using it on Netflix. You can set

boundaries, but I just don't want you to get worried about, Oh my god. I'm

ruining their brain. They watch TV for 3 days. They're destroyed.

No. They're fine. Same with food. If your child has an

upset stomach and all they wanna eat is banana bread or whatever, just give it

to them. Don't worry about vegetables. It's really

okay. So you lower your standards. Lower your standards around how

your house looks. 1 of my clients just had a baby. She's like, oh my

god. My house is a disaster. She's like, but it's fine. I was like,

yeah. Because she knows that it's temporary. It's not

forever. She's just gonna let things flow and be

okay with how it is because it's not an unusual it's not a

usual circumstance. Okay? So I want you

to adjust your priorities. I want you to lower your

standards, and then, I want you to be able to

rest while they rest. So if your kid is

sick, the 1st cup the 1st day or 2 is great because they cut an

app a lot. Right? And I always liked it as my boys would be a

little bit gooey that those days, and they would, like, wanna curt curl up

and and, you know, lean against me and things like that. And I didn't really

get that. They were very active Boys, they didn't like to cuddle that

much, so I kinda liked it, and it was nice.

But I think there's this tendency like, Oh my god. They're napping, so I should

probably go get everything done or whatever. And it's like, no.

Rest too. Like, you're You're working. Okay? Taking

care of a sick person is work. It's it's

not easy, and so you get to Rest while they're resting.

Plus, you don't wanna get sick. Right? You wanna have patience later,

and that means getting taking time to, like, I don't know,

Nap. Rest. Chill out while they're

sleeping. Now if you need to do a couple of things,

like, Just to make yourself feel better, that makes sense.

I don't what I want what I wanna avoid here is you

dumping All of your frustration or your

fatigue onto your kid. Right? So your

job while your kids are sick is working extra hard

at regulating your own nervous system,

regulating your own stress response because, like, compassion

fatigue, It is real. I'm, like, real nice

to my husband if he's sick, like, day 1 and day 2. But, like,

day 3, I'm like, you know what? You're Fine. Get up. I'm not bringing new

stuff. Like, I I I burn out on it, and I burn

out on it with my kids too. I have to work hard at, you

know, taking care of myself so that I have the capacity

to continue to show up for them. Resting is part of that,

but also regulating your nervous system. And if you remember, we regulate our

nervous system through the 3 r's, rhythm,

reward, and relationship. Rhythm is about our

body, about movement. If your kids are sick,

go ahead and take care of your body a little bit. Do some stretching.

Do a little dance party. Turn on some music. Do some flow,

like, in your body. You know? Jump up and down if you need to. Get

some energy. Move it up. Move it out. Do a little workout video,

whatever, because it will help you, first, doing

some exercise does keep your immune system up so you won't get sick, but also

it just moves some of that energy out of your body.

Emotion. Right? Energy and motion. We need to put it somewhere.

Relationship is really important. So venting to your partner, venting to

your, your your mamas, you know, that you're in a friendship

with, Talking to them, talking to your sister, talking to your parents, whoever it is

that is in your support group. If you're in my calm mama club,

like, go into the group and say, like, oh my god. My kid is sick

Again, I'm so annoyed, and everyone will just love on you. Right? Getting

that support, calling a friend, and connecting with people. That's so So we have rhythm.

We have a relationship. And then reward, getting a little dopamine hit

can help regulate your nervous system. As much as I'm

saying Lower your standards and adjust your priorities.

If you need to, like, tidy up a little bit, I want you to do

it with intention. Like, oh, this is gonna calm me down. I don't want you

to do it from guilt or from responsibility or from fear that

your partner's gonna be mad at you or something. It's like, no. No. This is

gonna feel good. I'm gonna tidy up. I'm gonna do this little laundry, and then

I'm gonna feel really good about it. Like, I want you to go into

those tasks with the intention of, like, this is gonna give me a little

checkbox Pop. Like, woo. Yay. K.

Alright. The last tip I have for you is

to get a break if if you can. So, like, if

you're partnered, I want you to let your

partner know, hey. This kid is homesick today,

and when you get home, I am going to want your support.

I am going to take a break. I'm gonna go take a shower. I'm

gonna go lay down for a few minutes. I'm gonna go for a walk. I'm

gonna go get dessert with my friend. We're meeting up, and we're gonna eat pie

or whatever. You don't wanna get a coffee at night, but, like, you You know,

get some sort of sweet treat or whatever. And so you can just

say, I'm making plans for tonight. You're on duty. Oh, but I'm

so tired. I've been at work all day. Yeah. Me too. I have also been

at work. It's called nursing. It's like a legitimate

career and job for some people. Right? So it's real.

And we need to let our partner know if we have a

partner, this is a tax on me. This is a hard

day for me, and I want your support. Being clear and

communicating that is important, and then actually

following through and doing it. I think moms, especially

especially stay at home moms, we think it's our Our job or our role that

we have to be on duty all the time

if our kids are awake or whatever, and it's like, no. You

have. I have another parent, hopefully. So

if they do, that person needs to tap in. It is their job

to take care of their child too. Yeah. So but we

have to ask, and that is sometimes awkward and create conflict. And your

partner might say no. Okay? That's a whole another

conversation. That's a different that's a different podcast

episode. But it is important that you not say no for

them, That you invite them to partner with you. That you invite your

partner to, to participate in parenting.

So do it. Ask them. Talk to them about it.

And alright. I wanna get into some activities. Well, first, I actually wanted to do

something, called preplanning. Okay. So you know

I've said, hey. Your kids are gonna get sick, like, 10 times a year.

Crazy amount of time. And

My suggestion is to have a little sick a day

kit. Okay? This might re this might be a little too Pinteresty or, like, you

know, Instagram mama stuff. And if you don't like it, that's

fine. I actually don't mean it to be cute.

I mean it to be practical. I'm a very, very practical person,

and I like knowing how

to solve a problem. I like having a plan for it. That's just the way

my brain works. And because my brain works that way,

I'm offering a little bit of how my brain works to you

and giving you this idea of creating, like, a sick day kit.

So what was what is that? Right? It requires a little bit of planning, but

throwing together a a box or a basket or

something like that or, or, like, you know, a plastic tote or whatever that you

keep separate. You keep it in your closet. You keep it

someplace else. It's not where the kids can have it all the time. And in

it is stuff that you are gonna need on the sick day. So let me

tell you some of the things that you might wanna put in your sick day

kit. New coloring or activity books. Just

having a couple of, like, kinda my kids

loved maze books for a while. They were obsessed with mazes. They were obsessed

with dot to dot. They were obsessed with airplane, you know, making paper

airplanes for a while, some coloring, but not usually. They

liked activity books, but, you know, everybody's different. So having some kind

of book like that or a sticker book where you know? I remember we had,

like, Lego sticker books. We had, like,

I don't know. Airplane sticker books. You know, you take, like, the airplane and you

match it to the little place where it's, you know,

the outline, whatever. You know what I'm talking about. So you can have

a couple of activity books, sticker books, maybe a

new stuffed animal in there, possibly a puzzle or a little

craft kit. I was recently thinking about shrinkydinks

and how those are kind of fun and they're easy. You color on them and

then you put them in the oven and then you have, like, a little, You

know, key chain or something. So that might be kind of a unusual

crafty type thing you have in there. A new Play Doh

set. Play Doh is so hard. Like, it gets you know, like, literally gets

hard and also gets all smooshed and mixed colors. So if you had a little

Play Doh kit, You know, couple fresh colors. That's always fun.

So having kind of some activities in there and then having a

a box of Kleenex, Possibly having,

you know, like, throat lozenges or if they're

older, If they're if they can't have a lozenge yet because it's a choke

hazard, I think they have, like, sore throat lollipops or whatever. And so you

wanna have some of those on hand Having Tylenol,

if you use medicine, like, if you use children's Tylenol or or any of those

products, having that on hand,

Having your humidifier you know, just having

1, and then that way you're set up. Humidifiers are really

helpful. We always also had a throw up bucket, not

to be too gross, but we, we still have it. And, like,

it's just a special trash can. It's A certain size, it stays in one

of the bathrooms under the sink. And when everyone and anyone is sick, we get

the throwout bucket, and we put it next to their, their bed. And it has

a bunch of Plastic bags underneath so we can just easily clean up

barf. I know. So gross. Sorry. But it's handy,

and it's funny because if it's out, Someone you know?

The other rest of them is like, oh, are you sick? Because we see the

throw up bucket. Anyway okay. I won't talk about it anymore. But, anyway,

having Items like that. Also, maybe

you put in a couple little special snacks that, like, you

know, you hardly ever get. So those are in there. Maybe like sweet serial or

something like that. I don't know. So that's in that little

sick day kit. Bath bubbles and a bath bomb, you

know, That's already prepped in there. And then I was actually

thinking of, like, a special water cup or water bottle that only comes up

only comes out during sick days and, you know, as a straw or

whatever. And that way, you know that that's their,

like, their thing they're drinking from so no one else gets sick. And

you can even personalize it, something like that. Alright. So you have a

sick day kit. You have your medicine on hand, And then that's

preplanning. Then also having a sick day

plan where you have a,

Oh, like a conversation if you partner with someone of, like,

who's gonna take care of the kids? If it's the

default parent. How many days is that person expected to take care

of the kid? So if you tap out after, like, 2 days, you're like, nope.

Day 3, you need to take that day off workman or lady or

whoever. Like, if the default parent has only a certain capacity,

talking about that with your other co parent saying I can handle

sick days for 2 days, and then you need to tap in. So really

having a conversation about it.

Or if you've already taken time off work, maybe you

you handled the last cold. When that cold is over,

saying to your partner, you're you're you need to be on this next one. You

need to tell your bosses that you might need to pay taking some days off.

So if you both work, it it I understand that it can't be,

equal, but there should be some sort of balance to

it where it feels, respectful

of of both parties, both people. If you are partnered

if you're not partnered or or you're partnered with someone who

can't take time off, maybe they travel, Or for whatever reason,

it's just not in that in their, you know, in their,

capability, then you probably need to start Thinking

outside the box, thinking if there's any neighbors on hand

that might be willing to take your kid for you know, to

come over while they're napping or something like that so that you can

run to the store or so you could take a shower. Finding

out about babysitters. Maybe you have a night babysitter who's a college student.

You could say, hey. I would you ever be willing to work during the day

in case there was a sick day? Now, obviously, the

person who's helping you is going to be taking the risk

that they might get sick too. So, you know, they might be like, no.

I don't want to. But then I don't know. Some people don't care. I personally

don't care. I would take care of someone's sick child if I could.

So you wanna, like, figure out what your backup plans are, talk with your

partner, and just just talk about it because it's like a real thing

that happens. You do that for soccer. Like, hey. Who's going to the game

this weekend? Who's driving here? Who's taking them here? Whatever the

conversations, you do do this. So Doing it around

illness is a good idea. Then about work,

really talking about, with your colleagues at

work, You know, just letting know, hey. I've got little kids or I've

got kids under 10. They cannot stay home by themselves and when

they're sick. And so We need to have either a tele

telework plan, you know, working from home or, you

know, Just be prepared that some days I'm not

gonna be able to come in. I'm gonna have to stay home and and talk

about it with your with your bosses and see what they say.

Just talk and or if you like for me, I have clients. Right? So,

I need to let them know I'm not available because, You know?

Now I can because my kids are old enough. But when I they were younger,

yeah, I had to, like, not do stuff that I had

planned, and that's okay. It's okay to take care

of your kids and yourself if you're sick.

And okay. So activities. These are just I'm gonna

roll like, you know, kinda roll these out because I think

they're They're fun, and we'll also put them in the show notes. But

here are some activities of things you can do while your kids are sick that

aren't exhausting for you. You can make a pillow fort.

That is a very fun thing to do when your kids are sick because then

it gives them a safe little place to Rest, and they're not in their

room, and maybe they're near you. And, it kind of

kills time, and then they like they like it. They might stay in there longer,

bring books, bring Animals in there. So pillow fort's good.

Having bath time, you could do 2, 3 baths a day. Why not?

Does if they want to, go ahead. Put them in the bath. Let them,

you know, heal. Put some essential oils in there. Light

some candles. Do little bath bubbles or bath bomb.

That's a good way to something to do. You can

do a tea party, especially if you have someone with a cold and they

don't really wanna eat or drink tea. Having a little tea

party is fun. Doing a very simple craft. Like I said, the shrinky

dinks or something like that, making Play Doh. I didn't do

that, but some people like doing stuff like that.

Watching a movie together. So turning on a

cartoon movie or a movie you know, an older movie that

you've always wanted to show them or that they really love

and just curling up and watching it with them. That way you're resting and

you're Cuddling and things like that. Doing breakfast or lunch or dinner

in bed, playing a board game, or playing cards.

Cards are easy because they don't take a lot of space. You can do them

on the bed. FaceTiming relatives,

so that's a good way to kill some time. Just, You know? Hey. Talk to

talk to grandpa. I'm gonna take a shower or

whatever. Sitting outside, if the weather is okay,

I'm just laying resting on a blanket, just getting some fresh air,

going going outside, sitting under a tree, something like

that. Only, obviously, if the weather is okay for that or just

looking out the window. It's really interesting what what might happen

in front of your house that your kids don't know about because they're usually at

school during the day. So looking out the window, looking for birds, looking at

clouds, looking how the wind moves, if it's raining or snowing,

looking at that, things like that, counting the number of cars that drive

by, going on a walk,

if they if they can or just putting them in a

stroller. I mean, even, like, 7 or 8 year old can

still kind of fit in there if you still have it. And just be

like, you know what? You're really sick. Let's just go some fresh air. I'm a

put you in the stroller. And that way, you can move your body a little.

And then, I think that was the only one I had. The

the yeah. That was all of them. So just some

activities to think about when you your kids are sick. Just some

ideas. And the last thing I wanted to talk about is

the last day of illness. Okay. So, like,

this is it's the worst day because they're too

sick To go to school, like, you know they

can't quite handle school that day. They're still a little

bit snotty or They're still a little bit tired. You know, they

didn't get enough sleep the night before, but they're not

sick enough to rest all day. This is the worst day.

It's like the 1st day or 2, they're all

gooey and sleepy, and they they're, you know, they're they're sick. But then the

last day, you're like, oh my god. You could've gone to school today,

but you kinda know they couldn't. So, anyway, what do you do that day?

Those days, You're gonna wanna maybe your brain is gonna be like,

who cares? Just let them watch TV all day, but then they get wild.

Right? So you know you can't have them in front of the TV all day

the get crazy. So what are you supposed to do? This is the

day that you go for a walk. This is the day that you

go to the park for a little while Even though all the preschoolers are there,

it's fine. You run some errands. You this is the

day they start to do their catch up work. Right? If they've missed a couple

of days of of classwork, this is the day they do some of their schoolwork.

You can set a limit. Hey. You can watch TV for an hour after you

have done your makeup packet. So this is kind

of when the illness has gone on a couple days, but they're still

home that day. It's, like, Kind of acting

as if that it's a normal day is my recommendation. Like,

a normal Saturday, how you would handle it. You induced

TV all day. You would kinda, like, have there be a rhythm to the

day. So getting back to that rhythm and back to those routines and those

limits, and then also celebrating because deep down

in your heart, you know they're going to school the next day, and you're almost

done. Alright. I hope this was helpful. 1 of my

clients asked me to do this episode, and I I thought it was fun

to give you some tips and, Some mindset

tools to just prepare for the winter as we head into the

winter season and all of the the gooey, you know,

Colds and coughs and all the stuff that comes with the

winter, and, hopefully, you can just listen to this episode when it

comes up for you and get some good ideas of how to calm your

mindset, calm your calm your frustration, take really

good care of yourself, and, you know, show up with

some energy with your kids and make it kind of a a fun little sick

day for them instead of a day where you're Like, why are you

sick again? I promise that

someday, your kids will get grown grown be bigger. They

won't be as sick as often. Their immune systems do

get stronger, and they also can kinda

manage themselves. And it's not as like, they're not right on

top of your body as they get a little older, which is nice too.

But you will miss it as they say. Okay.

Mamas, I hope you have a great week that you

don't feel ill, and your task this week is to put together

a sick kid toolkit sick

kid kit. And, yeah,

that's your that's your task. Okay. I hope you have a great week,

and I will talk to you next