One of the most difficult times of parenting is when our children are sick. Not only do they require extra attention (and love!), but no mother wants to see her child feeling awful. All we want to do is take away their pain. Us mamas need all the help we can get when we’re tending to our sick babies, and there are some amazing hacks out there! Check out this list of brilliant mom hacks for sick kids to get them feeling back to normal in no time.
Source: LoveZilla.net
1. Use Your Medicine Bottle To Track Doses
When you have a sick child that needs antibiotics, its of utmost important that you accurately track doses. Certain medications require multiple doses a day, and when your main concern is tending to your ill child, it can be easy to question if you missed a dose!
Thank you LoveZilla.net for showing us this hack for sick kids, and check out her site for some other amazing ideas on parenting!
2. Marshmallows Can Help A Sore Throat
Sore throats are hard on kids (heck, hard on us adults too!) and it’s hard to know how to best help relieve their pain. Many children are too young to effectively suck on lozenges due to a choking risk. As it turns out, eating a few marshmallows can help dull throat pain! Apparently, the gelatin in the marshmallows is helpful in soothing throat irritation. Its worth a shot!
Source: @RSL Images via Flickr
3. Remove Splinters With Baking Soda
Kids get splinters all the time and removing them is the worst! Not only are kids inherently squirmy, but they also don’t like the idea of something hurting. It’s nearly impossible to get them to sit still while you try and dig out a splinter, and it’s very easy to just make it worse. An easy trick it to take some baking soda and just enough water to make a paste. Smooth the paste on the splinter area, and then cover with a bandaid. Let the mixture sit for up to 24 hours, and when you remove it, the skin should have pushed the splinter to within reach to remove!
Source: Snoqualmievalley.macaronikid.com
4. Treat Ear Aches With Salt & A Sock
Ear aches are terrible for kids and makes sleep difficult since it can be more painful when they lay down. Sea salt has long been known for its natural minerals which can have healing powers. By pouring very coarse sea salt in a plain white sock, and heating the sock up, your kids can get relief when applying to their ear. In addition to the minerals, the warmth and pressure of the salt can help shift the ear pressure, brining relief to everyone involved!
Check out Snoqualmievalley.macaronikid.com for the full tutorial on creating your own Sea Salt Sock!
Source: @Stephen Greenberg via Flickr
5. Lollipop & Medicine
Older kids can be hard to convince to down a cup of medicine. Unlike babies, you can’t pry their mouths open, and tricking them can have dire consequences (the single reason I STILL can’t eat applesauce. Thanks, mom!). Use this hack to make taking medicine a bit of a treat for sick kids by using a lollipop. Have your kids dip the lollipop in the cup of medicine and suck it off. They keep dipping until the medicine has been consumed and can use the lollipop as a chaser!
6. Use Banana Peels on Bug Bites
Bug bites are never welcome and always come in the most inopportune times. Aka, when you are out of anti-itch cream! In a pinch, you can rub the inside of a banana peel on those obnoxious bug bites. This old Chinese method will help inflammation, redness and of course, itching!
7. Homemade Ice Packs
Kids get lots of boo boos and sometimes they need an ice pack. If you’re out of store made ones, and used that bag of frozen peas in last night’s dinner, then make your own! All you need is a large ziplock baggie, and mix 1 part rubbing alcohol with 3 parts water. You can put the bag in the freezer and it the mixture will get very cold but won’t freeze. You can mold the bag over awkward injuries and save the headache over not having an ice pack!
8. Treat Sunburns With Black Tea
Sunburns are one of the worst issues to deal with when it comes to our children. We already feel horrible enough that we neglected the sunscreen, but sunburns are so painful and time is what it takes to heal them. However, you can speed up that process by using black tea as a topical agent! Take 3 bags of black tea and soak them in warm water until it’s dark brown. Then take a towel and dab on the tea to the sunburned area. Let it soak in and don’t wipe off! You can apply several times and then hit the hay. In the morning, the sunburn should be drastically reduced, and you can send your tea-smelling child to the shower.
Source: HomespunHydrangea.com
9. Homemade Vapor Rub Shower Cubes
Congestion and nasty coughs are a huge bummer, and it feels like there’s just nothing you can do until nature runs its course. A great remedy is using vapor rub, but did you know you don’t just have to use them topically? You can make your own shower cubes that are perfect for alleviating sinus congestion. Follow the recipe over at HomespunHydrangea.com to make your own natural and effective shower cubes! You’ll also find great info on DIYs, frugal living and travel.
10. Double Up On Sheets
Sick kids get sick everywhere- the car, couch and their beds. And they usually do it in the middle of the night when you’re half asleep and you just want to get them back to sleep. It’s a great idea to double up on their sheets in case they have an accident, so you can quickly take off the soiled sheet and use the one underneath. You can even layer another mattress pad in between as an awesome hack for ultimate protection from your sick kids!
Karly Wood
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