“What doesn’t kill them will make them stronger.” “A little dirt never hurt anyone.”
These are two of my mantras for life. Growing up in an old country farm house in the mountains of North Carolina, as one of eight kids, really shaped my view of dirt and germs. I was always outside playing in the mud, if it was dry I was making my own mud. (You have to have mud to play… I mean what are the dolls suppose to eat? Am I right?!) Fast forward a few years; I am now a mom and my household is much different from my childhood.
I have two people who are very susceptible to illness due to health conditions and another who just has bad luck when it comes to catching what is going around.
Dealing with the ‘germ bags’ as my husband affectionately calls them in the appropriate way has been a learning curve. Here is what I have learned thus far.
1. Hand sanitizer is not only helpful, it is a necessary part of everyday life. Be warned though, if you buy the scented kind… it is a lie… After the initial whiff of heaven your nostrils will be assaulted with the lingering after scent that clings to every pore in your skin. It will take hours for the smell to actually leave.
2. Segregating the sicko is not a bad thing. If you are willing to do this, you will be more successful in keeping the illness at bay.
3. Don’t be too proud to wear a mask and gloves. It doesn’t mean you are less of a loving mom.
4. I need to buy stock in Lysol. Keep a can near the infirmary, spray after each bathroom trip, the door handles, the faucet handles… EVERYTHING.
5. iPads or tablets are handy dandy tools for assuaging the guilt of isolating your sick kid in their room. Granted this only works well for older kids, I would say five years and up.
6. When cleaning, suit up; mask, gloves, rubber boots, the whole nine. Throw away anything that can be; load the washer with everything that can be washed; pillows, sheets, lovies etc. Spray everything down from the bed frame to the floor. Let it sit. Lysol needs to dry to fully kill the germs. When you are done, don’t forget to strip down and throw your own clothes in the washer as well.
When my oldest recently got sick we were able to isolate her safely away from the family using the above protocol. She was able to call me if she needed something, and she didn’t feel left out or abandoned. Through the use of technology she was able to call from her room in the middle of the night when she needed support without having to walk through the house with her germs.
In short, if I can do it, you can do it.
#staywell #germbags #kids #familylife
