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Work at Home Moms, how do you handle sick days? When you're sick, when your kids are sick?
I let my kids get away with almost everything, short of bloodshed, in return for them leaving me alone. Those are the days that they get away with crackers on the couch and endless tv and videos. It's worth it if they let me rest...I don't sleep, really but at least it's rest. And they get to eat junk food and instant food all day too.
Not very well, as I recently found out. The past three weeks have brought colds, flu, and virus's to my three children (ages 6.5ysr,3.5yrs and 13months). It is very frustrating when you are expected to always be there because you are the work at home mom and the burden falls all on you. My new strategy is I work full time too and my husband and I must share the resposibility equally of taking time off from work to care for sick kids. The children feel as if they are a burden when someone is only half there for them when they are sick. They deserve to be treated with TLC that doesn't get interupted by phone calls, faxes and deadlines.
Actually, in some ways sick days are easier. I'm forced to stay at home, for one thing - not run all over the country doing little errands that could be left undone... Also, my kids tend to sleep most of the day when they are sick. When they are awake, they like to just lay down and watch a good movie and drink a cup of herbal tea. Lucky me!!! I actually get the house clean and uninterupted time for my business. But the nights are usually worse - coughing and aching make it hard to sleep and this always seems worse at night. My dh is wonderful though - he volunteers to sleep in the living room with his alarm clock (away from the flu germs) and I keep the sick kid in bed with me. That way I'm available for them when they need me and can dose a little while I hold them in my arms. Somehow this is comforting to both of us.
Find a friend or neighbor with kids and a similar work situation. Maybe the two of you could take turns with each others sick children. If one has a busy work day, maybe the other can stay with the kids. Or maybe one mom can stay home the morning and the other come home for the afternoon.
The best part of working at home is I am able to keep the kids out of school and comfortable when they are sick...and there are six in school, so it happens! :)
One reason I became a work at home mom was because I resented feeling 'guilty' when I had to miss work to stay home with my children if they were sick. I'm a single parent so this is always my responsibility. The neat part is feeling free enough to be 'there' for my children. So I learned to tell my clients that I need to cancel the day's appointments whenever it was necessary. It was hard sometimes to mentally and emotionally let go of the $$$ I was 'missing' out on. But I consider a sick child one that needs my love and attention - and more important than any amount of money. My children are now teenagers and able to communicate and care for themselves to a degree. But as much as is possible, I still devote some time of undivided attention to them. I think the focused attention at least until they feel comforted and truly loved is the key to being able to find time to do other things while they are sick. (And we all have ten million things that still HAVE to be done.) I like to do whatever feels comforting to them.... hold them, watch TV with them, feed them, give them drinks, tuck them in - whatever. I also like to use natural remedies. So they usually get a lot of onions and garlic (in spaghetti sauce works well) or else chicken soup... or whatever they crave (within reason). I keep away from processed sugars, I turn on my air filter/ionizer (we only get sick when it is off - and I'm not saying that because I sell them.... I don't - YET!), give them echinacea and anti-oxidants, and encourage a soak in a hot tub of water with epsom salts or dead sea salts, essential oils (like lavender, eucalyptus, maybe a bit of tea tree oil.... almost any thing actually).... or maybe even any tea you have (just throw in the tea bag).... like chamomile or peppermint... mullein, even regular tea if that's all you have. The object is to sweat it out and to stimulate your body's natural immune system to fight off the germs. (It works for us.) Plus I encourage REST - especially early on in the illness. I very ra! rely say no to my kids when they ask to stay home because they feel ill or coming down with something. Neither one ever abuses it.... And I feel a day of rest before the illness knocks them down is the best way to handle it. For stuffy noses etc, I like to use steam and eucalytus oil. (We do use OTC drugs - but sparingly. Tylenol when the fever is too high, or when they have a headache. Decongestants, etc, to help them sleep and rest well, help with coughing, etc. Or when they ask for one. But otherwise they get natural remedies. I remember when I first became a single parent how torn I was and how horrible I felt when I had to miss work for my sick daughter. I had just received the job and was trying to make a good impresion. And I had to leave for the day and pick her up from school. Then my son got sick and me too. I am so thankful that I no longer have to worry about what someone else thinks about me having to miss work for an illness! As if we should have to defend our right to stay home to care for a sick children!
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