Sometimes the Rules Go Out the Window | Toddling Through the Silicon Valley | Cheryl Bac | Palo Alto Online |

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Toddling Through the Silicon Valley

By Cheryl Bac

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About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons incl...  (More)

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Sometimes the Rules Go Out the Window

Uploaded: Jan 24, 2015
Taking care of kids is hard. Taking care of kids when you are under the weather is definitely harder.

You've probably seen the DayQuil and NyQuil commercial about moms and dads not taking sick days but instead taking medicine to power through their colds.

Yes, medicine can be great for helping us parents conquer our colds. But, it may not be enough, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding and have much more limited options of what medications you can take.

So, what do you do when you are sick? I feel extremely lucky to have support when I feel under the weather. I have close friends I could call to drop off a meal or even watch the kids for a couple of hours. A husband who could come home from work early or pick up a few things from the grocery store on his way home. And a toddler who understands when his mom is not at 100%.

Sometimes it's best for everyone if parents do take sick days. They probably can't stay in bed all day resting and watching TV. But they can spend the day throwing the rules out the window and focusing on resting and recovering. Let's watch movies instead of running around at the park, color instead of clean, read a whole pile of books, and eat snack food throughout the day instead of cooking or baking. And try our hardest not to pass the cold on to anyone else in the family.

How do/did you handle being sick with kids at home? Do you power through? Call in others for support? Let the rules fly out the window?
Local Journalism.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Jay Park, a resident of Mountain View,
on Jan 25, 2015 at 4:02 pm

My mom always powered through herself.

Her attitude has never changed. If both of us fell ill at the same time today, she would disregard her own discomfort.


Posted by Cheryl Bac, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Jan 25, 2015 at 8:15 pm

Cheryl Bac is a registered user.

Jay Park - Thanks for reading and commenting! It is definitely a big challenge when both parent and child get sick at the same time.


Posted by Mother of 4 , a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood,
on Jan 26, 2015 at 9:19 am

Cheryl, you have my sympathies as you are sick and you are battling to look after your kids while you feel miserable.

Unfortunately, this is real life. At present you are fortunate enough to be able to just sit at home while your kids watch videos, or whatever, and your toddler is compliant enough to do that.

My toddlers would have gone ballistic if they had been kept in all day just because I was sick. I have been known to take sick kids to the park at times of the day I know would be quiet, to get them out of the house to get some exercise (not very sick, I must add) and I have been there myself coughing and sneezing too, because I know that without a bit of exercise and the opportunity to use their major muscles, they would be whiny and uncooperative later in the day and I would end up with an impossible bedtime routine as a result.

With school age kids, it is impossible to keep them out of school just because Mom feels too sick to go out - even in kindergarten. They miss enough if they are out sick that it is a very hard decision to keep them home unless they are running a temp or throwing up.

It is hard to accept the role of being sick mom, but unfortunately there is no luxury in enjoying being sick once you are a mom.

And to end on a lighter note and to show I have a sense of humor, it sounds to me as if you may have a touch of man flu! If you have never heard of the disease, I suggest you google Man Flu.


Posted by Cheryl Bac, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Jan 26, 2015 at 2:59 pm

Cheryl Bac is a registered user.

Mother of 4- Thanks for commenting.

There are some nasty colds going around this year and the flu seems to be hitting quite hard. So when we are sick we try our best to stay in and not spread it to anyone else. Especially with so many new babies and pregnant women in our playgroups.

And by focusing on resting, recovering, and not passing it along to anyone else, I hope that we can get back to our regular routine much quicker.

I grew up with more extreme weather. Sometimes it just wasn't safe to play outside, so I don't find it too challenging to take care of a toddler when stuck indoors for a short period of time. He can run, jump, dance, etc inside and soon enough be back outside again.

Yes, I feel very lucky that our son understands when I am not at my best and let's me rest and recover. I'm sure being sick when caring for older kids is a totally different experience, but it seems like most of parenthood is like that. Everything changes.


Posted by Mother of 4 , a resident of Palo Verde School,
on Jan 26, 2015 at 5:30 pm

Just to clarify my point about taking "sick" kids to the park, I take the walking sick to the grassy areas and kick a ball, throw a Frisbee type play and stay away from the playgrounds. I point out that their germs could make other kids sick if they play with them or touch play structures, but healthy running with a ball type games won't spread their illness.


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