Being a parent is challenging. When my kids get sick, it’s even more challenging.
Having a sick kid leaves me with three options:
- Send them to school, because they’re not that sick.
- Let them stay home and rest.
- Take them to the doctor.
If I take them to the doctor and the doctor says it’s just a cold, then I feel like it was a waste of our time, the doctor’s time, and we should’ve just stayed home. If the doctor says they need medication, then I feel like I should have brought my sick child in sooner.
If I think my kid is not very sick and send him to school, but the school nurse calls me to pick up my coughing, feverish or snotty nosed child, then I feel like I should have known better and not sent him to school.
But sometimes, I send my slightly-sick kid to school, and they go through the day like a rockstar, totally healthy.
It’s a conundrum, with a lot of mom guilt involved, especially since every one of these scenarios has happened, multiple times.
This morning I had two sick kids, with different symptoms. One had been sick for three days and the other, just a day. I chose option three, and called the doctor. The doctor informed me that one child had a minor cold, while the other had strep throat.
This is a blog to thank all the doctors who deal with sick kids and not-so-sick kids, on a regular basis. It’s a thank you to all the school nurses who call me to pick up my sick kids without judgement or criticism. And a thank you to the teachers who brave every winter with a classroom full of virus carrying students.
Thank you to the brave adults, and try to stay healthy.
What do you do when your kids are sick?
