When Your Kids Get Sick

Managing two under two or three under three is tough enough under ordinary circumstances. But what do you do when the kids get sick?

Case in point, during the last 48 my husband was away my oldest came down with the stomach flu. You guessed it, that means throwing up everywhere while my other daughter consistently tried to monopolize my attention.

Life certainly gets a bit trickier when you have closely spaced children and one or more of them gets sick. Fortunately you can try some helpful strategies to help you get through the day. Here are some techniques I often use to help me get through the day with sick ones at home:

• Have your sickest child 'play' sick with you. For example, I allowed Hannah to sit on the couch with a warm blanket wrapped around her and her 'frog' (that's her lovey) so she could take care of him while he was 'sick'. We put a band aide on her tummy since her tummy was feeling unwell. This allowed me to tend to my youngest daughter while my oldest still felt cared for, pampered and in charge (because she was also caring for her 'sick' frog).

• Forget about trying to prevent the illness from spreading. I wash my hands as much as I can but ultimately there are certain germs that you can't help but get when you have multiple little ones running around. While I prefer that my youngest not drink off the same sippy cup my oldest does when stomach flu is going around, ultimately there is still a small chance she will get sick too. There is no use worrying about this all day, it can't be helped. Just do the best you can. Know this... with time your immune system, and your children's does actually build up. That means even when your little ones are exposed to a multitude of germs, they won't always get sick as the person that exposed them to the bugs to begin with.

• Try some natural remedies. Ginger is great for a tummy ache. You can add a splash to some fizzy water to make a homemade version of ginger ale. A cool cloth feels great on a warm head. Try a humidifier with a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil if your child is stopped up with a cold. Warm honey and hot milk may help soothe a scratchy throat (but don't give honey to a baby less than 1 year of age!).

• Laugh a little, then laugh a lot. My daughter managed to spew the contents of her breakfast in five separate locations on the carpet. While I often dream of what it might be like to have a perfect carpet, in all reality that will never happen. There will be mud tracks and old vomit stains and spills of this and that on any light carpet. Just do the best you can and forget about it.

Find out more about keeping your sanity in my latest guide Double Duty. You should notice a link to it at the side of this post, or just click www.booklocker.com/books/2323.html