How To Keep Your Sanity When You're The Parent Of The Child Who Is ALWAYS Getting Sick

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to keep your kids healthy and stop them from touching toilets or licking random panes of glass in public, the germs end up winning.

It’s a well-known fact that kids are little petri dishes filled with germs that they spread from one child to the next. If your kid is one of those lucky ones who seems to always catch whatever is going around — and you find yourself constantly taking sick days to stay home with them — we feel for you. Try not to stress too much.

Here are a few ways you can keep your sanity in check when your little one is constantly getting sick:

Ask everyone you know for a favour.

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, friends…call in the reserves. Find someone you trust with your child (obviously) and see if they can spare a day here and there to take care of your little one while your kid catches up on Netflix on the couch. This is especially good when you know your child is on the mend but isn’t quite ready to head back to school yet.

Try to have a backup plan ready at all times.

If working from home is your plan, make sure you can easily log on to your system at work to access everything you need remotely. Or, have a bag ready at the door with your child’s pj’s, medicines, and pain relievers like Children’s Advil, a comfort item or two, and other things they’ll need so that it can be easily grabbed and taken to someone’s house (like Grandma).

Make them feel better.

This one sounds obvious, but you know that if your kid is happier, you’ll be happier. Try giving them Children’s Advil which is clinically proven to provide up to 8 hours of fever relief, so you and your kid can both feel better.

Relax the rules.

While they’re under the weather, why not let them have all the screens and eat popsicles for breakfast? Now is not necessarily the time to be tight on rules or fighting all the battles. Your child can quickly get back on track when they’re feeling better and routines are back to normal.

Be open and honest.

You might as well just tell it like it is to your colleagues and bosses. Your kid is home sick (again), so you have to stay home from work (again). It’s only temporary. The best thing you can do is let them know what’s honestly going on and then focus on doing your best to keep in touch. Check your emails. Call to check in when you can — they’ll appreciate it in the long run.

Work it out with your partner.

Before germy season hits, try coming up with a plan with your partner for how you’ll manage all the future sick days coming your way. Can you take alternating days off? Or if one of you tends to be busier than the other during certain times of the year, try being flexible. Whoever can move things around more easily than the other at the moment can look after the little one.

Try to remember it’s just temporary.

It’s heartbreaking when your little one is sick, but it won’t last very long. Kids seem to be mini-Wolverine type beings who tend to bounce back from things fairly quickly. If you can keep in mind that it won’t last forever, it’s easier to keep your sanity.

This post was written in partnership with Children’s Advil, but the opinions are our own.