Sick Child on a Monday & "I Only Let My Kids Watch PBS"
Hope the weekend was good----if your weekends are like mine, the workday is actually FAR more relaxing than the weekend!
I have a sick child this Monday AM, some kind of a stomach thing. I tried to crack my 7 year old to see if she was faking it but
when she threw up on the dry clean only bedspread, I knew she was not faking it. How do you guys handle doing the work/sick kid thing? I do a lot from my house, which is much easier than doing the juggle with the calling in sick to the office (to take a sick day for your sick kid). Used to do a lot of those type of days.
The question is, will the child authorities really come and visit if I allow the child to watch TV from now until, say, 3pm when I pick up the elder monster from her keepers at Catholic school? Is 8 hours a day of Cartoon network (every so often) a BAD thing? As a WT mom, I say a resounding NO! Especially when you have a conference call every Monday at Noon.
This leads me to one of my favorite subjects, which are the "pre-moms" (and we all know them) that say they will "only let their children watch PBS". Don't cha love it when these moms finally crack? I know that is kind of mean but the one thing you should never do is make broad blanket statements like that before you have kids.
WT moms----I am looking for COPING tips for working at home with a sick child. Or for getting anything done at home when you have a sick kid. Anyone?
Happy Monday!
posted by queen of wt at 9/19/2005 06:38:00 AM
22 Comments:
Good question. Since my son is two, I am a fan of any DVD that has repeat play on it. He loves the Einstein programs.
Although, there are times when there is no chance of me getting anything done. So, I try to gage his state before I try to start any activities.
Is it bad to keep them medicated? I mean it makes them feel better, right? I usually give my child a nice cup of warm milk with a Robitussin chaser in the afternoon. Ahhhh... sweet nap time.
Ah yes.... I will never spank my children. I will never raise my voice and yell at them. I will never let their little brains get sucked by the evil television. They will have five course meals every day.
Riiiiiiight. No comment.
Plop her butt in front of the TV and feed her Sprite and Crackers. Then leave the room and do whatever. :) I usually throw in a cup of chicken broth too.
ugh. my two year old came down with a stomach thing too, about a week ago...he announced the arrival of this fact by puking in the produce aisle of the grocery store (ah, the joys). that whole night he was up every couple hours throwing up on his sheets.
needless to say, we spent the entire next day in front of the disney channel, and then the wiggles dvd, and then the thomas the tank engine dvd, veggietales singalong VHS, repeat repeat repeat! it was really just that first day after that i needed and RELIED on the tv, and i see absolutely nothing wrong with that!
i can't tell you the number of things my child has actually learned from watching these shows, so i don't believe that its total brain-rot time.
and yes, medication is helpful too...you know, where applicable, haha!
since illness is an exception rather than the rule, i don't get bound up in trying to get much done when it occurs...that just adds more stress to the day.
your best bet is to try to get things done during nap time...and spend the rest of the day commenting on movies! ;-)
Let her watch TV! Hell yes! I have a couple of backup videos that I know she'll love but are saved for "special" (Like if she's into Elmo, keep 2 videos in a special sick day box so they seem new and she'll watch them over and over)
She'll drink more tea and eat more toast if you call it a "tea party" and pour it from a pot,and put thetaost on a little china plate. It doens't need to be hot.
Let her nap on the couch with the TV turned low and the room darkend.
If you have the ability, get your work laptop computer on a wireless network so you can sit next to her (they all want "attention) and work while she watches her shows.
Let her sleep! Her little body needs all the sleep she can get to heal itself! You need all the sleep she can get. You'll get more work done. Go back to Mommy Rule #1 - NEVER wake a sleeping baby.
Don't even try to cook dinner for the family tonight. You have extra wash to do, (ugh, especially with a tummy virus) Get takeout. And, BTW, from a single WT mom who needs takeout delivered - plain white steamed Chinese rice is JUST as soothing and good for a bad tummy as toast or crackers.. Even better, it has no butter or grease mixed in. Ditto wonton soup broth - it's plain chciken broth, after all. And chicken dishes made with the "white sauce" are very good for upset tummies (like chicken with snow peas) - that white sauce is only chicken broth and cornstarch.
i love the disney channel because it has no commercials. also i firmly believe that TV teaches your children. My 14 month old tries to sing the ABC's and she can count to 3 from watching "brainy baby" DVD. take that PBS.
my friend just pointed out your blog to me and I LOVE IT! I am soooo white trash in every sense you describe!!! I am so happy I found a mom who's like me! And "Muffy and her Pals" crack me up, especially because I am renting a house right now because my family is in transition and you can't get any more WT than THAT when it come to discussing that with THOSE type of woman! love it. come check out my blog sometime http://bridget229.blogspot.com/
It's not only pre-mom's. It's usually first timers with just one. My boss says he'll never let his kids have video games. Hah! I said that for years until the eldest was about 10.
Cartoon Network rocks. I'd never get a ny Saturday morning action, if you KWIM, without it.
Not too much on suggestions. I usually end up playing board games with them during the day after they get bored.
Yeah, the sick kid thing SUCKS! I say that as mine is home sick today also. THANK GOD it's the cold thing and not the pukey thing (knock on wood). Ok, so this is what I do... I take it as an opportunity to lay in bed myself and not do anything! I set up a TV in HER room so as to keep the puke covered items down to a minimum (TV is a sick child's best friend) and then lay in my own bed and watch some TV myself and nap. Pajamas are a great thing to wear all day too. You'll have to check my blog, I'm a HUGE fan of the PJ's (and embarrassing my child with them). Anyway, I don't cook dinner because I know I can't stand the smells wafting through the house when I don't feel good and I just order out something for the ol' man and myself. So just lay back and give in yourself and watch a little Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, People's Court... DAMN, isn't there ANYTHING better on than these stupid court shows? I received a college education and I stay home with my child for THIS??
Our guest room is the designated sick room. As a bonus, it's steps away from the bathroom (thank God for kids who are old enough to make it to the toilet!). The TV stays on, the remote is placed by the pillow, and I supply the ginger ale and saltines. As a backup, we put an empty plastic shoebox (the rubbermaid type) next to the bed - just in case. I cannot stand the sound of puking, so I call out encouragement and make sympathetic noises from the hall outside the bathroom until they're done. If I'm lucky, I get my DH to stay home instead of me. Puke doesn't bother him (as a trade-off, I do blood).
FWIW, we watch Nick, Disney, and The Cartoon Network.
no wait, i'm a first timer with just one and i'm all about my kid having video games, lori!
he's only 2 (well, next month anyway) and i'm already planning on getting the V-smile kid's game, and my husband and i already let him move a guy around on our xbox...he's not quite ready for combat yet, haha, so we just put in a role playing game that has no attackers and let him at it.
i think it may have something to do with our age and the fact that we grew up playing video games, so we couldnt imagine our kids not having them. i would bet your boss was probably never into them himself...
Hey, JANE, thank you so much for making me feel like I'm not so alone. I'm not the mom that can be there while the yakking is going on either. I feel like the WORST mother in the world when that happens. Thank you, Thank You!!!
P.S. I do the blood too and try and get my husband to stay home when the stomach stuff is going on.
No need in keeping reality from your child I say.
Let 'em watch Soaps... or The L Word you have TIVO'd or better yet... how about those Dr Phil reruns? (ick)
If I had children ... I'd let 'em watch pretty much what they wanted as long as there was no nudity, vulgar language, or violence.
*kidding*
That would mean I'd have to block everything we watch now!!
get your laptop set up and go here....
www.badmothersclub.com
You really had me into this whole WTM thing and really diggin it until I read "when I pick up the elder monster from her keepers at Catholic school". Huh? Catholic school? Isn't that a private school where you pay $$ to send your kids? Who has $$ for that? Surely not us real poor WTM's. I'm just sayin.
I personally send my child to a Catholic school also. We don't make that much money, my husband is a Fed and I have us budgeted really tight. Also, tuition is really not that expensive. Think of the things you spend $ on... Our tuition is only $250/month. We sacrificed things like cable TV and a car payment to find the money. Look into your local private school, sometimes it's really not as bad as you think.
Just because you send your child to private school doesn't mean you aren't a WTM... it just means you believe differently in education.
Hey, did ya'll see this? Thought you might enjoy! Seriously made me want to hurl.... look at the Crowned Muffia in the middle.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/20/mrs.america.ap/index.html
Sorry, sorry, blogger ate the end of it. It's supposed to be "index.html" instead of that "i" on the end.
a little robitussin and plunk them on the couch with a soft pillow,a blanket and some pencils and paper
i'm not a mom but I'm a nanny for several families at a country club - talk about the Muffia force.
All wooden toys enriching their little brains? Baby Einstein, but only in a foreign language! Heaven forbid they eat non-organic food! (the only mom I work for who lets her kid eat popcorn and gatorade for dinner was a registered nutritionist before having babies...you do the math.)
Even when they're not sick, I have the tv on when I'm there. With mommies that attentive, don't they need a little exposure to the real world?
I adore your blog.
I can top the "pre-mom" pbs thing... My 3 year old's preschool class took a field trip to McDonalds. Truly- is that WT or what? Turns out one of her classmates dad's owns the McDonalds. Suddenly, a wee bit more muffy than WT. Anyway- I was moaning about it being a dumb field trip when another (muffia)mom pipes up- "yes- we've never let Elizabeth go to McDonalds yet." WTF??? A 3 year old American who has never been to McDonald's? Isn't that child neglect? Damn- if we only go ONCE a WEEK I think I'm up for mom of theyear award!
I'm a NURSE and I can't deal with the puke. If it comes out of that end of you I don't want ANYTHING to do with it. I always did poo and blood duty-the husband had the other end.
Post a Comment
<< Home