Helpful Tips to Soothe your Sick Child

(Bamse comic at the clinic which talks about Washing hands, covering up when sneezing/coughing and staying home when sick!)

You pick up your kid from school and they have a stuffy nose and the sniffles. Oh no.. not again.. they are sick ;( and it's especially worrisome during this cold season.

If your little ones are in daycare or just starting in daycare, be prepared for them to get sick once a month at least. Kids are super spreaders, which is why many of the teachers in their groups are away sick too.

In Sweden, during the Pandemic, daycares and schools remained open (except for older High school aged kids who for some period had digital learning).

Here are some things to remember to help soothe your sick child. Oh and be prepared for some sleepless nights. I often have to wake up multiple times when they have trouble breathing through their nose.

* Make sure they get lots of fluids. We actually called the clinic and they gave me the advice that, it's ok if it's juice or ice cream, whatever helps them get some fluids especially if they don't want to eat/drink anything. My kids like smoothies, juice boxes and juicy fruit like Watermelon, strawberries, mango and grapes (cut into quarters to prevent any choking). Juice Popsicles are a huge hit at our home.

I sometime pre-cut watermelon so it is prepared ahead of time.

* Chicken Soup
Easy to eat foods in case of a sore throat, like soups and porridge.

Boiling chicken for homemade Vietnamese Chicken Pho!

* Humidifier

Our friends gifted us the humidifier before they moved away from Sweden. The most recent bout with illness involved a bad cough and this humidifier really saved us. The white noise also helped my daughter sleep through the night, which in turn helps her body heal and recover.

Humidifer on the floor by the bed on the lowest setting.

* Organic Chest Rub
We found that using chest rub on their backs and chest before bed, helps them breathe.

* Have a Kleenex box or a cloth handy to wipe their little noses. 

* Water bottle is useful to keep near them while sleeping when they cough and throat gets dry (for older kids that can drink by themselves).

* You can also try Elevating their bed with extra blankets under the mattress to help them breathe.

* No need for cough syrups. Several times we've been told by nurses/doctors at the clinic that they don't really work to help loosen the phlegm and most have side effects like the cough syrup, Mollipect.

A juice popsicle (you can even water it down) really helped get my little ones 

to have something when they were super cranky.

I called the clinic about testing for Covid after my daughter got sick and they said if she wasn't in direct contact with someone infected then it's not necessary. The new rules at daycare are they can come back if sympton free for 2 days, or after 7 days if no new symptoms. However, we usually keep kids home as long as they still have their coughs so that's often a few weeks. And these days, they've been home after their daycare reported more Covid Cases.

* Take a break or Tag team with your partner

And remember, it's ok to take a break when taking care of sick kids or kids in general. Leave the mess, it can wait. Get some food delivery if that would help you as a parent have a break from worrying about cooking and it's treat for the sick little one too!

Happy meal makes kids and parents happy ;) We ordered McDonald's delivery and the little one had most of the burger, fries and carrots! Nice to have a toy surprise too.

It's never easy taking care of sick kids. It's definitely not easy to work from home during this time either. But this won't last forever! Thanks for reading and remember, Stay safe and stay home if sick!

Don't forget your snacks!