I'm not very nice to my sick kids.
I'm not MEAN to them, but I'm not the sympathetic nurse type. I TRY to be. I get soda for them and let them watch TV and take their temperatures, and read out loud to them, and give them medicine. But inwardly, I'm thinking, "Man. This is kind of a pain."
That's not very nice, is it?
Actually, it's kind of an inverse relationship. When they're REALLY sick, with super high fevers, achey bodies, and they're all-around really very miserable, I'm actually quite kind. The sicker they are, the nicer I am, and I'm not faking it. I really hate to see my kids in pain. But when it's the fifth day of the flu, and they're now just kind of under the weather, and the TV's been on for hours every day, and I'm thinking that I'm kind of done with the whole thing, well, I stop with all the niceties and start suggesting it might be time to practice, or do homework, or go back to school, or stop complaining, or just go to bed if they can't think of anything to do but watch TV.
And when I'm not really sure that they're sick at all? When they just MIGHT be crying wolf? Like when one child in particular complains Every Single Day about yet another different ailment?
I'm kind of a bear. A really snappy, unsympathetic bear who tells kids to suck it up and go to school already.
I guess I need to practice my nursing skills. And I get to! Lucky me! Josh is on his fourth day of the flu, and I'm a little worried that Kate is coming down with it, if her sniffles and sore throat and general grumpiness is any indication.
I have been pretty good this time around. Josh has been REALLY sick. His fever is high, his eyes look sunken (yes, I'm throwing liquids at him left and right) and he's worn out and weak, and I just wish I could help him feel all better. Poor guy. So with all this real suffering, I've been feeling very kind and loving. The inverse relationship, remember? We've started reading Lord of the Rings together and he's digging that. I've made him hot chocolate, smoothies, brought him root beer floats, taken him to the doctor, gone to the library for new books for him... That's all pretty good. But I'm kind of running out of ideas.
So what do all of you kind and sympathetic moms do when your kids are sick? What makes your kids feel loved and protected? Maybe I just need something new in my bag of tricks...
5 comments:
I must be a member of the un-sympathetic club. I may even be the president. When Lizzie had her tonsils out I did have a few little crafts she could do, but (bad mom that I am) I made sure they required minimal parental assistance. I can't wait to see what ideas you get, because I could sure use some!
I hear you. (I imagine we're all the same way. The SECOND day Isaac was sick last week, I made him do his practicing. He wasn't THAT sick.)
As far as ideas? I step back at look at all the nice things I've done for my children and reflect on what a great mom I am.
Playdough. Do 12 year-olds do playdough?
I'm unsympathetic too! But not so much with the kids as I am with Keith---I have no suggestions, I'm too old for all of that. We watch a lot of TV and read a lot of books and try to sleep a little more. Keep up the good nursing habits.
My mom was the BEST sick mom. (She was/is the best everything mom, really).
Even now, she makes sure all of our needs are totally taken care of, that we are warm, hydrated, comfortable, and safe...
...but if she knew we weren't as sick as we were acting, she'd still let us stay home but she'd give us a good long list of chores she needed done. We learned quickly that going to school was much easier than being just a little under the weather. She's brilliant. Always has been.
No suggestions and no clue. I'm with you. Sick kids are not fun. I do what my mom do (which is what most of us do), and make sure they have what they need, bu that's about it. I don't honestly remember my kids ever being sick fo rmore than a couple days at a time. Sorry, kerri. but, I KNOW you're a great mom, so stop beating yourself up.
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