And You Will Have Kids

Healthy kids and holidays don’t seem to go together.  I can probably count on one hand the number of holidays that I’ve spent with healthy children. From the emails and phone calls I receive from others who have children, I am not alone. 

Yes, I am careful to feed my kids nutritious food and I make sure they get their rest.  I disinfect the house and make sure they use hand sanitizer after coughing or sneezing.  They still get sick.

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When my first child was born over 15 years ago, things were different.  When she had a cold or a cough, even when she was a small infant, I could buy cold and cough remedies over the counter.  I personally felt that these medications helped. 

Fourteen years later when my son was born, things were a little bit different.  Recently, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) here in the United States pulled such products off the shelves and gave various reasons for their decision.  I was simply shocked.  Mostly, I was concerned because my son had a cold and I had no idea what to do!  I had 4 children prior to having him and I had used the medications with all of them.  None of the older children had any ill effects from the medication either. Nevertheless, the FDA claimed that there was a health risk and that because of this, the medications should never be used on young children.

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Every working parent will one day have to deal with “the sick child crisis”.  Hopefully, you’ve planned ahead of time for this inevitable event.  If not, it’s best to begin now.

In many families, both parents need to work and the children need to go to daycare during the day, or before and after school while their parents are at work.  Most days, the routine goes off without a hitch.  Then, a child gets ill and can not go to daycare.  What now?

Check with your daycare provider to find out their rules on attendance and their illness policies. Will your child need a note from a doctor to be allowed back to daycare?  Also check to see if your area has any sick care providers.  In our area, there are several daycares that just provide care to sick children.  Sure, many parents wish that they could be home with their child when he or she is sick, but it isn’t always possible. 

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