Life can get pretty hectic sometimes. And if you’re juggling a job, caring for a family and numerous other responsibilities, it can feel as if you can’t cope with one more thing on your plate. So when one of your children gets sick, it’s pretty much a disaster. They may not be sleeping at night, so you’re both tired, and you find yourself having to juggle a heap of priorities in order to try and make things work. It’s a really hard situation, and yet it’s one that most families will find themselves in more than once, as your kids work their way through various childhood illnesses.
So, how do you balance the demands of a job, adult life and a sick child without losing your sanity? If your child is too ill to go to daycare, and you have important meetings which can’t be rearranged it can be a hugely stressful situation – so now what?
Speak To Your Employer
Many of us are too scared to raise the situation with our boss in case we come across as uncommitted or unprofessional in some way. But any decent organisation should care about their employees, understand that they are human beings with lives outside of work, and try their best to be accommodating in situations where children are sick. You may be surprised how helpful some workplaces can be. They see your value as an employee and they understand that these events are outside of your control, and that you may not be able to focus properly if you’re worried about your child. See what arrangements can be made.
Depending on where you live, there may be laws which allow you a certain number of days as unpaid emergency leave for situations precisely like this, so check it out online or with your human resources team. If that’s not possible, your workplace may allow you to use some of your regular leave to cover the sickness. Understand your employer’s policies in advance so that you know what you’re dealing with before sickness hits. Some bosses may be fine with you working from home for a few days while your child recovers.
Seek Proper Advice
The key to your child’s quick recovery is accessing proper medical advice as soon as possible. Don’t delay, as this could lead to a worse illness and complications than if you had followed a proper treatment plan from the word go. If you’re pushed for time to take your kid to the doctor’s surgery, then look for online consultations where you can get proper advice.
Make sure that your child is staying hydrated with plenty of fluids and, if they can, eating some nutritious whole foods which will help support their immune system and get them to recover faster. They also need plenty of rest, so try your best to keep them comfortable at night – using a humidifier in the room can help small children to breathe easy while sleeping if they’re all stuffed up.
Try to make sure that you always have a well stocked medicine cabinet, filled with all the basics for dealing with most common illnesses – liquid paracetamol, soothing antibacterial skin creams, ibuprofen for managing a fever and other common medicines. Having these supplies to hand can really help as you don’t have to dash off to the pharmacy when your child gets sick – it’s one less thing to worry about.
Work With Your Childcare Provider
Some jobs are a lot more family friendly than others. Depending on what you do, it may be easier to arrange time off at short notice when your kids get ill. But if you work in a front-line profession, such as medicine, law enforcement or teaching then flexible working arrangements usually aren’t part of the deal. This can be a very tough situation to navigate. And if your job can’t accommodate you, you have to have childcare arrangements that do. Not all nurseries are created equal, so aim to find one that is supportive of working parents and prepared to be flexible on the odd occasion.
Or you could look for a home-based solution, such as an au pair or nanny who comes into your home (potentially shared with other parents if you can make the arrangement) or a caregiver who looks after children in their own home. These arrangements generally tend to provide a greater degree of flexibility than conventional options and they are usually okay to take on childcare when a kid is a little under the weather.
Find a solution that is going to work for you and support you in your career. Or you may be fortunate enough to have family nearby who may be able to help out in a pinch – don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re stuck.
Let Go Of Guilt
Working parents often suffer from a whole heap of guilt. You may feel bad if you can’t be there for your child when they aren’t feeling well but work demands you be elsewhere, and you may equally and at the same time feel bad for not being present at work or able to concentrate on it when you know your child is sick. It can be one of the hardest aspects of being a working parent to deal with, and it can even cause problems in your marriage if both of you start to fight about who should be there, or if one partner is being inflexible.
Try to remember that you both want the best for your child, and work together as a team. And if one of you does have to skip some work in order to care for your child? Try to gain some perspective on the situation. Instead of thinking about the hassle, reframe your thinking – this could be an opportunity to take time out of your busy life and reconnect. Frame it as a chance to bond with your kids – a day in pyjamas watching old movies, eating chicken soup and snuggling under the comforter could be really restorative for both of you!
