It’s no fun coming down with a drippy nose, cough, tummy ache or fever — especially for a toddler who can’t bear to miss a minute of exploration. And when your little one’s sick and miserable, it can be hard on you too.
So while you can’t wave a magic wand to make those icky feelings go away, there’s plenty you can do (outside of what the doctor orders) to ease your own parenting worries and help your sick toddler feel better.
Let her set the rest rules
No need to banish your sick toddler to bed, even if you know that’s where you’d want to go if you were feeling yucky. Just keep a close eye on her and follow her cues. Little kids are good at picking up on their body’s signals, slowing down when they’re really sick.
So if she feels well enough to play, let her do her thing. If she seems too lethargic to do much more than snooze and listen to a few songs or stories, stick to slower-paced activities. Just make sure your child is fever-free before you take her out near other people. (Going for walks or playing outside in your backyard is fine).
Doctor her diet
If anyone tells you to “starve a cold, feed a fever,” don’t listen. Childhood illnesses call for a nutritious diet — just adjust your tot’s meals to suit her appetite. If she’s willing to eat (don’t force it), give her whatever nutritious foods she’s hungry for. Pancakes for supper? Fine.
Getting plenty of fluids (even via tiny sips throughout the day) is also important and is especially restorative if your sick toddler has a fever, cold, flu or lung infection. Serve foods with a high water content, like chicken soup or broths, applesauce or small pieces of ripe cantaloupe or watermelon. For sore throats, a frozen fruit-juice bar can soothe the scratchiness.
If she’s throwing up a lot or has persistent diarrhea, call the doctor. It’s likely the pediatrician will advise you to give her an oral rehydration solution, like Pedialyte. If your child goes without eating or drinking anything for 24 hours, that’s another sign to call.
Help the medicine go down
Whether the pediatrician recommends acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil and the like) to bring down a fever, or prescribes antibiotics to beat a nasty bug, you’ll want to make medicine-taking as pleasant as possible for your sick toddler. Usually that means doing what you can to mask an unpleasant taste. Even prescription drugs in the kid-friendliest flavors can have an after-taste to some tots.
Often kids prefer cold liquids — just make certain that chilling won’t alter a drug’s effectiveness. If you’re not sure, ask your pharmacist. You can also try mixing meds into a small amount of soft food, such as yogurt or pudding — but keep in mind, if your tot doesn’t finish the treat, there goes the dose. A dash of chocolate syrup can also help obscure an unappealing taste.
Counter congestion
Most toddlers (and even preschoolers) haven’t mastered the skill of nose-blowing, so they suffer with stuffed-up sinuses.
Help your child to breathe easier with one to two saline (salt water) nose drops in each nostril a few times a day: It’ll loosen up the mucus so that it flows out more easily (gross, but good for getting better faster).
Run a cool-mist humidifier (aka vaporizer) in the room where your tot spends most of her time. Read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on keeping its filter clean to prevent mold and bacteria growth.
If a constant drip has left your sick toddler’s nostrils and upper lip red and raw, keep the area slicked with a petroleum jelly–based ointment, such as Vaseline or Aquaphor, until the cold runs its course and the redness disappears. Offering your tot tissues with lotion in them can also help soothe the chapped skin.
Read all about it
It helps kids to understand that feeling rotten is part of life. If your child is up to it, isn’t contagious and has been fever-free for 24 hours, a trip to the library will yield a few books about ailing characters she can relate to. If she’s too pooped for an outing, ask your partner to bring home an armful of “sick” stories to read by her bedside.
Preschoolers may appreciate books that provide age-appropriate explanations of how the body and immune system works and why it sometimes gets sick.
Keep it light
Laughter is the best medicine — and that’s particularly true for toddlers and preschoolers, who can often tolerate discomfort best if they have a distraction. Sure, you can cue up a movie (and you may need to at some point so that you can take a break), but simple activities that don’t require a ton of energy and that you can do with your child pack the most palliative punch.
Glean a few giggles by challenging your toddler to make funny faces (and try a few yourself!). If your sick toddler isn’t up for the sillies, try lower-key activities: easy jigsaw puzzles, simple board or memory games (consider setting aside a few just for sick days) or a few rounds of “I Spy” played from the coziness of the couch.
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