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Sick days can be stressful for busy parents juggling families and careers. With careful preparation, you can help your child feel comfortable, recover, and stay on top of things at work by preparing ahead of time.
Advance Planning
Know when your child needs to stay home. Be sure to read your child’s school handbook so that you are aware of policies and procedures. Most schools encourage keeping children home if they have symptoms that may interfere with classroom participation or could spread sickness to others. The common cold can be contagious for two days or more. Once a fever has been gone for 24 hours without medication, most kids can return to school. Sending your child to school sick can spread illness and may end up prolonging your child’s symptoms.
Discuss sick day arrangements with your spouse. Come up with a plan that both of you can agree to execute as smoothly as possible. Discuss the roles each person will commit to, including which parent will stay home when your child gets sick. Deciding factors will likely include office flexibility, paid time off, and work obligations.
Enlist additional help. Call in the troops! If you are blessed to have grandparents who live nearby, they may enjoy an extra visit with their grandchildren. Neighbors with flexible schedules may also pitch in if you are comfortable with them. It takes a village!
Stay up to date on school policy. Most schools explain their policies in their handbooks and websites. Find out whether you need a doctor’s note to cover a prolonged illness and stay tuned for updates during the flu season. Home and hospital may be available to help your children with attendance and school funding.
Understand your workplace culture. A family-friendly workplace depends on the informal culture as well as formal policies. Please talk with your employer in advance to address concerns and find solutions that work for everyone.
Check the contract. Ensure your daycare agreement outlines the practice for sick children. Determine whether they charge full price for sick days and what standards they use to assess whether a child is sick.
Research community resources. In bigger cities, there may be services especially planned to take care of sick children, so see what’s available in your community. Larger daycare centers may have nurses on staff.
Staying Home With Your Child
Contact your child’s school. Let them know your child is staying home and be sure to alert then if they have something contagious. Teachers and classmates can pass along missed assignments, and the school nurse can help answer any questions.
Arrange coverage at work. Take work home that you can do while your child is resting. Use the phone and email to stay in touch with your office. Build a support system for exchanging favors with co-workers.
Enjoy quiet activities. Take advantage of the extra hours together by reading with your child—Limit television viewing and other screen time that can interfere with getting adequate sleep and rest needed to recover.
Serve comfort foods and lots of liquids. Depending on your child’s illness, be prepared with foods quickly digested like bananas and low-fat yogurt. You can make the common cold feel less miserable with plenty of water, juice, and clear broths. Jello and Popsicles can cool the body down from fevers and go down easy for sore throats.
Follow your doctor’s instructions. Call your pediatrician if you have any questions, or if your child has a cough or cold that lasts more than a few days or is accompanied by a fever. If you use children’s over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, follow the directions carefully.
Disinfect everything. Keep your family healthy by doing a thorough cleaning once your child recovers. Wash the sheets, replace toothbrushes and wipe down surfaces, including doorknobs, towels, keyboards, phones, and toys. Be sure to keep your hands clean and dispose of used tissues immediately. To avoid contamination, you can use one color tissue for eyes, and another color for noses.
Being prepared for sick days makes them less stressful for the entire family. With a bit of preparation, you can spend some special time together and help your child get well soon.
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