My pediatrician sometimes reads my blog posts, but boy, I hope he doesn’t read this one. The same goes for my kids’ dentist … because I’m about to lay some serious honesty down and it’s not pretty.
The thing is, I try to follow the conventional parenting rules — providing healthy foods, keeping screen time to a minimum, encouraging plenty of outdoor play, etc.
But when my kids are sick, pretty much all of that goes out the window. When their noses have turned to leaky faucets, their coughs sound like seal barks, and their foreheads could fry not just an egg but a whole darn frittata, mama ignores conventional wisdom and starts spoiling her tots like a grandma on steroids.
Presenting, five parenting rules I break when my children are ill:
1. Serving healthy, balanced meals.
Feverish children, as you know, tend to refuse food. When this happens, I set aside the kale, string beans, and quinoa and pull out the big guns. You want cinnamon buns for breakfast chased by a chocolate cupcake? Go for it. String cheese with a side of Kraft singles? Sure! Pickles and only pickles for lunch and dinner? You bet! Just make sure Daddy is the one you wake when your tummy hurts at 2 in the morning and we’re cool, ‘kay?
2. Setting limits on screen time.
Normally the kids get about half an hour to an hour of television at night and that’s about it. But when my little guys are too uncomfortable to sleep and too tired to play, watching TV becomes a big part of the day. Sure, I read books to entertain them too, but my boys tend to request the same stories over and over again and I can only read The Cat in the Hat so many times before wishing that someone would just call animal control on that rhyming freak of a feline.
3. Exposing them to fresh air.
Even in the colder months, experts advise outdoor play for kids. But bundling small, wriggling children in heavy winter clothing is hard enough when they’re healthy, let alone when they’re sniffling, cranky wrecks. Unless the doctor orders us outside — e.g. when a few minutes of cold air helps a croupy cough — we’re going to rock cabin fever like we’re The Clash rocking the casbah.
4. Encouraging good manners.
We’re definitely a “please” and “thank you” family. Whenever the kids request something and forget to say “please,” they’re gently reminded with a simple, “And how do you ask for that nicely?” But when they’re ill and one needs a tissue while another wants a cup of water, efficiency and the intense desire to prevent whining lead me to dispense with the niceties and just race to give them what they want, no matter how they ask for it. My four-year-old could knock me upside the head with a pebble launched from a slingshot and say, “Orange juice now, lady!” and I’d acquiesce. Heck, I might even thank him for not pegging me in the eye. A mother’s love knows no bounds, folks!
5. Brushing teeth at bedtime.
Sometimes sick kids are too uncomfortable to sleep … and sometimes they’re so worn out that they fall asleep early — so early, in fact, that they manage to crawl into their beds without brushing their teeth. Given how many cupcakes they might have consumed during the day (see no. 1), the idea that they’re not brushing their teeth before bed makes me deeply uncomfortable. But then I look at their sweet, sleeping faces and can’t bear to wake them. I weigh the consequences of future cavities against the consequences of waking an ill, exhausted child and I decide the latter is worse every time. Rest up, my little angels, I tell them in my mind. Hopefully, you’ll recover soon — you’ll need to be in good health for your next trip to the dentist.
What parenting rules do you break when your kids are sick? Tell me in the comments section below!
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