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Soothing Sick Children

The winter blues, the spring colds, and anytime the children are sick, you need to use a soothing hand and a warm voice to keep your children from getting too cranky and to make your own life a little easier while they are sick. If you want to make being sick a little easier for your child, read through the following tips and ideas on how to make your child more comfortable and to use soothing ideas so that your own day won’t be so bad while they are sick.

Let’s start off with the basic cough and cold.  When you know that your child is coming down with a little cough and cold, that will make anyone feel yucky, start by having them eat a little extra fruit, drinking some cranberry juice or by eating a little chicken soup. When your insides feel better and full of energy you are better able to fight off a cough and cold, or at least deal with being a little sickly and the same will ‘go for’ your child. Giving your child the edge with a little extra energy and a little boost in vitamins, they will be able to continue with their daily activities without feeling so bad.  One mom I know tells her children that the vitamins fight off the cold germs so her kids will eat more fruits and fruit drinks while they are sick. 

You will find that when you create little rituals when you children are sick, they are going to try and pamper you in return when you are sick as well. If you have a cough or cold, your children might want to make you tea or pour you a glass of juice, and they might be more helpful around the house!

Not only are you going to be pampering your child when they are sick, helping them feel a little better while they are sick, but you are also going to be creating memories that are going to be remembered for a lifetime. The family unit, the structure of the family and the dependency on each other is much more obvious when you spend time together in the good and in the bad times, and being sick is just one of those bad times, but your child will remember you dotting over them while they are sick forever, long after they are better!

If you are soothing the child that is a little sicker with the flu, a stomach virus or a an achy cough and cold, you can pamper your child a bit by giving them a bubble bath, letting them watch their favorite video twelve times or by letting your child sleep in the living room. Sometimes, sleeping in a cooler or warmer place will help your child sleep longer when they are sick and the sickness will pass much faster. If you were to sleep the couch while your child sleeps on the floor or on the recliner, your baby is going to know that you are there for them if they need you but they are not going to be sleeping in your room, which can be a hard habit for small children to break.

What are some of the other ways that you can pamper your child so that they won’t feel as sick as what they might be? Offer to make their own favorite foods, sometimes a good meal will make the day seem all that much better and when you know that your child is eating something nutritious their bodies are going to be able to fight off those yucky germs faster. Buy Popsicles or freeze pops when your child is sick. Although the freeze pops are really not going to do much for fighting off the germs, the cold makes their sore throat feel better, if this is one of their symptoms, and the freeze pop is going to keep them from dehydrating if they are having problems keeping liquids down. Keeping your children calm and happy is going to make the ordeal of being sick easier to handle.

Take off a day when you child is sick, really sick when you can. If you work outside the home and you still have to find a sitter for your child because your job is very demanding, make sure you are leaving your child with a sitter that is going to pamper your child so that they can relax, sleep and work on getting over their sickness or cold. When you take a day out of your schedule to spend with your sick child, they are going to remember that for years to come because it shows that you care and that they are loved, or at least they will feel more loved than if you sent them to the sitters. The small child’s mind is not really that complex, they want to be held, pampered and loved when they are sick and your soothing them will make their little cough, cold or aches seem to disappear much faster!