Tips For Caring For Sick Grandchildren

Tips for caring for sick grandchildren

Being a mother is the hardest job you will ever love. Being a grandmother is easier….most of the time.

When grandchildren are sick and you live close of course you want to help! This past week my youngest granddaughter became very ill with RSV and it went into pneumonia. She was flown by helicopter from our local hospital to a larger facility in the city. It was a very long and scary night.

I went to stay with her siblings while mom and dad drove to be with their baby; that was on a Friday night. I brought them home with me the next day and soon realized they were both going to have to go to the doctor on Monday.

We came home from the doctor with enough medicine to open up our own drug store and both of them were on breathing treatments with a nebulizer. Mom and Dad and the youngest of the tribe didn’t get home until Wednesday night and by then I had come down with something myself.

Who has time to be sick? Certainly not a mom or a nana, right?

I’m not an expert but here are some tips for coping with sick grandchildren (when you are sick too). Hope you don’t have to use them, but if you do here goes….

Keep them entertained.

You can’t see me in this picture because I made it and because I was doing the Hot Dog Dance to try and make them smile. They felt awful and at first were bored with my antics so I actually had to do a really funky dance to get them to laugh….but they eventually did. Thank goodness no one was videoing me.

Make them feel special.

I snuggled and cuddled as much as I could (which is probably why I got sick) but that’s a risk you take, right Moms and Nanas? I even decorated their toaster strudels with the first letter of their name in an effort to make them feel more loved.

Take Time to Teach.

I was a high school history teacher but I substituted at the elementary school. What did I learn from substituting at the lower grades? That I wanted to teach at the high school! Oh my goodness those little kids wore me out! But it’s different when you are related to your students (they still wore me out). We worked on letters and numbers and drew lots of amazing art work that is now taped to the walls all over my house. It kept them busy and who knows, maybe they learned something.

Take a Break. 

Moms and Nanas need breaks now and then. When they took naps….I took naps. I didn’t use the television as a babysitter but I did let them watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. After I did the Hot Dog Dance I took a break and collapsed on the couch and watched with them while they had a snack.

I hate it when children are sick and I’m so thankful they are all on the mend. Now if I can just get to feeling better. You never know when you might be called to do the Hot Dog Dance!