It’s 7:20 AM.  You Go to wake your child up and they tell you they don’t feel good. What do you do? 

Usually you reach for the thermometer and when you find they have a high temperature, you start to panic. If you start to panic, feel overwhelmed or even frustrated, you’re not alone. or You may even think, “I don’t have time for this!”  (don’t feel guilty!)

This – can 100% throw you off your game, especially if you’re not prepared with a plan to fall back on.  

For me, I freeze and start thinking about ALL the things I need or should be doing to support my little one.  

What if you did all the thinking ahead of time? What if you had a plan of action and could say, “OK, I got this!” so you could just care for your little one(s)? A plan, can help ease the stress when it does happen.

Today, I’m sharing 5 helpful tips you can take action on right now to prepare your household when/if YOU or your kids get sick during this Winter season. 

You can’t always plan for when sickness strikes. But you can ease the stress when it does happen by planning ahead.

Tip #1: Create a Care Plan 

You want to have a plan if you or one of your kids wakes up sick or the school calls to have the child picked up or you need to leave work early because you’re ill.  What’s your plan? 

When Shay woke up last week, my day literally went into a tail-spin. I had tons of meetings and really no back-up plan.  

Here’s a few things you can do to plan ahead: 

• Speak with your spouse about sick days/leave.
• Who can take off or is willing and able to work from home.
• Create a plan A and plan B for who will pick your child up. 

Tip #2: Create an “Emergency Care Kit” 

If you’re running around looking for the thermometer, cough syrup, gloves, testing kits of any sort, doctors numbers, tissues, garbage bags, etc… it’s easier if it’s in one designated spot in the house. 

Think about… What would go in your kit? Where do you keep your kit? 

Here’s a few ideas of what’s in our Emergency Care Kit: 

• Chest Rub (We use Zarbee’s) 
• Cough Syrup (We use Hyland’s Homeopathic)
• Tissues
• Band Aids 
• Thermometer (if using digital, extra batteries)
• Extra plastic coverings for thermometer
• Garbage bag
• At-home testing kits 

Tip #3: Create a Healing Food List 

Whenever you’re sick, you’re certainly not in the mood to eat, let alone cook. 

It’s nice to have healing foods stocked in your pantry.  

Here’s an idea of go-to staples we have: 

• When we don’t have homemade bone broth in the freezer to defrost, we use Imagine Vegetable Broth or Thrive packets of Bone broth.  Add water, heat and serve. Easy, peasy! Check out the recipe for Healing Bone Broth HERE
• Zevia Ginger Ale – no sugar and bubbly to calm the stomach. 
• Healing teas and foods that won’t upset the stomach. 

Having a stash of frozen rice, boxed bone broth and/or packets as well as Electrolytes can be helpful for quick foods. 

Create a master list on demand so you can have it delivered via Instacart (savior!) or Amazon Prime. 

Tip #4: Get Outside or Open A Window: 

Plan to get some sunshine or fresh air and sunlight. Even if that means going outside and/or opening up a window. This can be so refreshing and helpful even if it’s for a minute or two. 

Tip #5: Focus on Gratitude: 

Worry, stress, constantly looking at the temperature or monitoring symptoms tends to focus on what’s not going well and can even lead to more worry and stress. 

We need to monitor these things and we can also look at what is going well. 

For example, while my daughter was sick, we focused on thanking her body when she blew her nose to get the “icky stuff” out. 

Every time she puked, we thanked her body for getting rid of the “bug.”

This is teaching her not to get mad or upset with her body when it feels run down, but to thank it for doing it’s part to ward off whatever the body’s dealing with. 

You can do this in your own way and whatever feels comfortable for you whether you’re thanking or giving gratitude for a fever – the body’s natural response to fighting infection- or sleeping to let your body rest and recover. 

Now, I’d love to hear from you!  In the comments below, share ONE tip that you’ll take action on today. 

Remember, you’re always in control of your health and well-being and that starts with having a plan. 

Your health and wellness matters,