Taking care of your children when you are sick can be more than challenging as a single parent. There’s no one there to take care of the kids while you are stuck in bed. You have no choice but to do it yourself. While getting sick is inevitable, here are some tips and tricks to keep it from happening quite as often.
Start with cutting down on your stress load. The more stressed you are the more susceptible you are to illness. As a single parent this may seem nearly impossible since you are doing the work of two, but it really does make a difference. Sometimes you have to give up good things for more important things. I quickly learned this when I started back to school. While doing my best and getting A’s was a good thing, spending time with my son was better. I still worked hard, but when I got sick every couple of weeks, I realized that I couldn’t do everything. I learned that I had to make sacrifices.
Germs are a basic part of parenting. You’re changing diapers, cleaning up spaghetti off of the floor, and wiping runny noses day after day. This is why it is so crucial to wash your hands often. If you aren’t in a place where you can wash your hands, be sure to carry some hand sanitizer with you.
We all know how important sleep is, but as parents this, along with exercise, often gets pushed to the side. For most of us, the only alone time we get is after the kids are in bed, so we spend that time catching up on housework and all the other things we didn’t have time for during the day. However, if we aren’t getting the sleep that we need we don’t have the energy to fight off the viruses coming into your body. It is also important to be eating foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals that boost your immunity. Yogurt, strawberries, peppers, and nuts are great ones to boost your immune system.
It’s easy to let your health fall the wayside when you are trying to do all of the everyday tasks of single parenting, but you can’t care for your children anywhere near as well from bed. Make your health a priority, you deserve it and so do your kids!