How to Survive Childhood Ailments

Kids get sick. It's a fact of life and there isn't very much you can do about it. Last week, I had two sick kids. One was one suffering seasonal allergies but the other had developed an ear infection and was feeling rather poorly. Admittedly, I tend to take a lackadaisical approach when it comes to dealing with sick kids. I am strictly feed a cold, starve a fever all the way. My mother-in-law (MIL), well, let's just say that we have a difference of opinion.

I love my MIL, but when my kids get sick you would think that the whole world has fallen down around her shoulders. And they're not even her kids! She goes into overdrive trying to take care of them. She pulls thermometers out of hidden drawers in her bedroom and would take their temperature every hour on the hour if I let her. As it is, when their temps go above 99.1 she threatens to pour children's Tylenol down their throats, strip them down and give them cold baths. You should see my 14 year old son's face when I tease him and tell him I'm going to let her do it, too!

If there is no fever, out come the blankets. You know, so they won't get a chill. It could be the middle of summer and they could be lying on the couch sweating their little booties off and out come the fleece blankets. And socks. No matter that I've been sitting with them, tending to their every need; she knows better than I. They need to be covered.

I never give them the right medicine, either. Have you ever gotten "the look"? I could be giving the kids Tylenol or Motrin. Robitussin or Dimetapp. Anthrax or Cyanide. And I would still be wrong. She never says anything, but I get "the look". For some reason I never choose the right medication for the right occasion. And heaven forbid I choose not to give them anything at all (which I often do). At that point in time I get the loaded question, "What are you giving them?" Because if I answer, "Nothing," I am wrong. And if I say,"Cough medicine," I am wrong.

But do you know why I am always wrong? Because my MIL loves my kids almost as much as I love them. She wants nothing but the best for them. And to be fair, she did have some nurse's training like 50 years ago so not all of her advice is to be ignored. Just the outdated parts.

Funny story: Recently, my oldest daughter opted to take pills instead of the liquid version of an antibiotic for an ear infection. She has trouble swallowing them because they are pretty big. So one day my MIL sat down and tried to coach her through it instead of leaving her to her own devices, which is what she prefers. They sat together at the kitchen table for about 15 minutes with her grandma telling her over and over how to swallow pills. Step. By. Step. By the end of it, I was sick of listening to the lesson. So now, while she finishes the prescription, when she starts to struggle with swallowing the pills, we threaten to go get her grandma to help her.

So maybe there still is too much of a good thing.