I will never forget the first time my daughter came down with a cold. She was almost 2-years-old, if you can believe it, and during a temporary lapse in judgement I took her to the Science Center at the peak of cold and flu season. I had been living in a bubble for far too long and decided I needed to let loose and let her be a kid, and absolutely loved watching her run and play. I remember sending photograph after photograph of her to my husband, and while a large part of me wanted to scrub her hands with bleach every time she touched something, I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t have a good time, even if the weather was horrible outside.
We must’ve spent a good 2 hours at the Science Center that day, and when I gave my daughter the 5-minute warning that it was almost time to leave, she decided to spend the remainder of her time playing with a bin of LEGO. This seemed like a good idea to me as I felt a quiet activity would help wind her down so she didn’t fight me while I struggled to get her into her snow suit, and I took the opportunity to send a few more photos to my husband while she happily played alongside a little boy who couldn’t have been much older than her.
When it was finally time to go, I asked her to say goodbye to her friend, and when he looked up at me, I saw 2 streaks of florescent green grossness running from his nose.
I almost passed out.
And despite my best efforts to shoo my daughter away from him as quickly as I could so I could sanitize her hands, she came down with a horrible chest cold the following week, and it was a good 2 weeks after that before her congestion and cough subsided.
The good news is that I am a much more rational human being than I was back then, and I’ve learned that, as much as I want to protect my child from the evils of the world, keeping her in a protected bubble is not a healthy way to live. And thanks to the wonderful world of preschool, we are much more experienced with illnesses in this household, and today I am teaming up with the fabulous folks at Boogie Wipes to share my best tips about colds and kids, and how I make my daughter feel better when she’s under the weather.
1. CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE
Being cooped up with a sick kid isn’t exactly my idea of a fun day, but I also know how absolutely horrible it feels when I’m sick and everyone around me still expects me to function normally. So when I see the first tell tale signs that my daughter is coming down with something, I load up on groceries and ice cream, reschedule meetings, and ask for extensions on assignments (where possible) so that my main focus can be on my daughter. I find by taking the pressure off of me, I am much better at focusing on her, which goes a long way in keeping her feeling comfortable and secure.
2. SETUP TOY STATIONS
When my daughter is too sick to go to school, but not sick enough to spend the day in bed, I find it helps to keep her distracted. The less time she has to focus on how horrible she is feeling, the better, in my books! So I try to setup different quiet activities for her around the house: playdoh in front of the TV, sensory bins in the kitchen, books on our super-comfortable, king-sized bed…you get the idea. I make sure to keep the activities as low-key as possible, but try to keep them engaging so I can keep her occupied without exhausting her.
3. CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES
During the first couple of days of an illness, when my daughter cries at the drop of a hat and there’s nothing I can do to make her feel better, I throw all of my rules about watching too much TV, spending too much time on the iPad, eating too many blueberry pancakes, and tooth-brushing right out the window. It’s just not worth it, you know?
4. THROW THEM IN THE BATH
My daughter LOVES bath time, and while I’m not a fan of sitting in the bathroom for hours on end, I make a special exception when she’s under the weather as I find a long soak in the tub with her favorite toys goes a long way in boosting her spirits!
5. GO FOR A DRIVE
While I don’t really support taking sick kids out in public for the rest of the world to catch their germs, going for a drive with some great tunes pumping through the car really helps to reset everyone’s mood after a long day inside.
6. KEEP THEM COMFORTABLE
About 3 days into that horrible chest cold my daughter picked up from the Science Center, her nose was so red and raw that the mere sight of tissues and paper towel made her scream, so while I was out shopping for her favorite foods while my husband comforted her at home, I decided to give Boogie Wipes a try. I had seen them countless times in the baby section of our grocery store, and since desperate times call for desperate measures, I figured it couldn’t hurt to give them a try.
Have you heard of Boogie Wipes?
They are made with saline to dissolve boogies (mucus) caused by colds and allergies, and they are extra soft and scented in Great Grape, Fresh Scent and Simply Unscented, which makes the process of wiping dirty noses MUCH easier (and much less painful!) than doing it with a dry tissue. I invented a fun little game for using these awesome saline wipes with my daughter where we say, ‘one … two … BOO!’ together before I wipe her nose. It’s silly, but if it keeps her smiling, it’s worth it!
Of course, sometimes nose wipes just won’t cut it, which is why I also keep a container of Boogie Mist handy as well. It’s an amazing saline spray with a scented schnozzle that makes spraying stuff up kids noses less horrible, and she absolutely loves when I shout the word, ‘SCHNOZZLE!’ at the top of my lungs whenever I spray the saline mist up her nose.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of trying Boogie Wipes, or just want an excuse to stock up on some more, you can get a $0.50 off coupon RIGHT HERE.
And if you want some fun facts about boogers (come on, boogers are hilarious!), CLICK HERE.
This is a sponsored post. All content and opinions are my own.
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