Tips for when your child is sick

05.02.2013 4 minutes reading time From Editorial team

Having a sick child at home is not easy. Parents often wish they had a medical degree so they could do everything right. However, because children are unfortunately sick very often, especially in their first few years, you get a little practice over time. The good news is that with every infectious disease, they acquire antibodies and it strengthens them for life. The bad news – especially for working parents – is that this can happen up to 15 times a year. Here, I would like to give a few tips on how best to behave with a sick child:

Bed rest

Bed rest is not strictly necessary, but things should be quieter. Build your patient a cozy nest on the sofa. They need – and usually demand – a lot of attention and closeness from their caregiver. To keep the day from feeling too long, choose activities for the child that are not too strenuous:

Reading aloud
Painting
Listening to music or audiobooks
Watching a children's show together

Taking medicine

Who likes taking medicine? And then you also have to coax the children into it. Usually, medicine for children is very sweet and they drink the syrups willingly; if not, it sometimes becomes a challenge.

Tablets

If your child does not want to swallow tablets, dissolve them and mix them into a small portion of your child's favorite food.

juice

If medicine must be taken as a syrup and is refused, sweeten the syrup with a little syrup and mix it into some compote, pudding, or chocolate spread.

Extra tip:Give a smaller amount of pudding, compote, or chocolate spread, because it must be eaten completely so that the entire dose of medicine is actually taken.

Fresh air

I have often asked myself this question: when or for how long is my child allowed to go out into the fresh air? Especially with respiratory illnesses, fresh air is pleasant. Bundle your child up well and go for a short walk with them. The child should not run around or overexert themselves, otherwise they will be sick again immediately. If the child is too lethargic to get up, still ventilate the room regularly; either take the child out of the room or bundle them up warmly and ventilate thoroughly for up to 5 minutes.

Drinking plenty of fluids

Drinking is very important, especially with fever and diarrhea. To ensure your child gets plenty of fluids, place a nice water bottle (the kind used for outings) by the bed or on the sofa. If they don't drink enough on their own, give them a few sips about every 10 minutes. With a fever, it should be 100ml per hour, and with diarrhea, even 300ml per hour. If your child has vomited everything, you must be careful that the child does not gulp the water down too hastily, because then it will definitely come back up. Give them only a few sips by the spoonful, or give them a small plastic syringe with which they can drip the water into their mouth. In my experience, this is a great tip, because just handling the syringe has always kept our children very busy.

Food

Fruit in a colorful bowl with sticks This is a difficult topic with sick children; most children refuse to eat entirely. The food should be easy to digest and not too sweet. It is also ideal to provide small snacks from time to time:

Crackers
dried fruit
Whole grain pastries

Extra tip:I have also always arranged snacks for my children in a colorful and fun way. A nice colorful bowl and small sticks instead of a fork or spoon.

Diet for diarrhea

With diarrhea, you should start by eating little to nothing; usually, the child will say on their own that they don't want to eat anything. If your child wants to eat something, finely grate an apple using a grater.

Diet for vomiting

If the child is vomiting everything, do not let them eat anything for the time being. Give water by the spoonful (or via a plastic syringe) and wait to see if they can tolerate it. If they have an appetite, let them eat an easily digestible soup, such as noodle soup.

My experiences

Our twins were sick very often in their first three years. They caught almost everything at kindergarten. Of course, every child also has a weak point; one always gets a sore throat, the other always gets a cough. But over time, you can adjust to it and always have the medicine or home remedies ready. I also always found it difficult when 'only' one was sick. The sick child wanted and needed a lot of attention. The second one simply wanted attention too and usually became very jealous immediately; that was often a tightrope walk. Fortunately, small children are like roly-poly toys; as soon as they feel better, they are back to their old selves and everything is forgotten. It will be interesting to see if our children are healthier than sick in primary school.

Did I forget anything, or do you have a good tip for a sick child? I would be happy to read your comments.

Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at

Editorial team

Behind meinhaushalt.at is Sabine Ostheimer. She collects practical household tips here – preferably using natural home remedies instead of pure chemicals –, money-saving ideas for everyday life and tried-and-true tricks from grandma's days. As a mother of twins she also writes honestly and without filters about family life; baking and seasonal table decoration are among her favorite topics.More about the site

All posts by the editorial team