As soon as they come out, the germs are out to get them. Every little kid gets sick at some point. The trick is to be prepared so your aren’t left helpless and needing stuff when the inevitable does happen.
Do you have the good stuff to help with coughing? The right supplies to manage a runny nose? The correct meds to bring down a sudden high fever? The toys and games that will keep them entertained in a small space so they can just hang out and rest.
NO!?! Well I have the info you need right here.
Sick Kid Supply List
Sick kid? Whatcha gonna do now?
Kids man! They keep getting the community crud.
And who knows where the stuff comes from? Was it the grocery store? School? Playground? Sports? There are too many places to choose from. But it doesn’t really matter in the end because they’re sick and they need us to get our game faces on and make them feel better.
Let’s break this down into groups: Food, Toys, Toiletries, Other useful stuff. You may not need everything on the list every time, but it will sure be nice when you do have them on hand.
Food
- Fruit- frozen is as good as fresh, especially for babies that are teething or have fevers.
- Gatorade- it’s easy to make popsicles with these
- Pedialyte- this can mix with the sports drinks for popsicles as well
- Crackers- plain or salted is better than flavored for a nauseous kid.
- Chips- same here, plain works well.
- Tea
- Peppermint candy- for nausea
- Honey- great to put in tea for sore throats
- Dark Chocolate- this can really come in handy for a headache
- Chewy ice- In our home we go grab a bag from the Sonic drive thru. They have that good good pellet ice.
Toys
The trick is to give them things to do that don’t involve a screen. It’s hard to catch those needed naps when blue light from screens are in their faces. For a link to the research that goes into blue light brain stimulation go to this article. Throughout the post you’ll see links to medical research articles and at the bottom you’ll find a link to the book based on that research.
- Art supplies- coloring books, pencils, crayons/markers, stencils, paper, paint, canvas, etc… Kids love to color and doodle when they’re sick.
- Legos/ Lincoln Logs
- Board Games
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Stuffed animals- Even teenage boys love a good soft stuffed animal –I catch mine sleeping with his big ol’ duck sometimes
Toiletries
- Tissue with Aloe or Lotion added
- Soft cloth (like an old t-shirt or baby washcloth)- These are good for just about everything, from wiping noses to being used as a cool rag for headaches or fevers. It’s also useful to tuck into the collar of their shirts if you add a little bit of Vicks to it. Their body heat warms it up and the vapors clear their passages.
- Baby Vicks vapor rub- Heat up that washcloth with a little bit of water and rub some Vicks on it for a steamy menthol rag they can hold onto. It’s also good to add into a nice warm bath or make into a shower steam tablet.
- Vapor bath- Most stores have their own version now, but if you have the Vicks from above, any bubble bath can be turned into a vapor bath.
- Disposable underwear- Diarrhea is no joke to clean. Keep sizes for all the kids handy. Adult diapers can work well for kids that are larger.
- Vaseline- I can’t even list all the things you can use this stuff for but I’ll try- sore noses, rashes, dry skin, cuts, chapped lips, sun burns- basically anywhere with irritated skin.
- Baby powder- Honestly I don’t know why, but my kids always feel better if I rub some baby powder on them. For some reason it makes them feel good. And it doesn’t even really matter where. Elbows, knees, feet, low back, etc… Try it out and see if it works for you too.
- Bandages- ACE wrap, bandaids, paper tape, etc… You never know which one you’ll need and they’re relatively cheap to stock up on. The Dollar Tree has all of these things.
Other Supplies
There are some medicines listed on here but I am not a doctor. Use your best judgement and ask your child’s MD if you have questions about these.
- Waterproof pads- The waterproof crib sheets work well. Having one or two of these down when a bad stomach virus is happening can save your furniture and carpets.
- Children’s Benadryl- According to my mom it dries up sinuses and helps keep colds from turning into ear infections- I don’t know if its true but I didn’t get ear infections as a child so it might be.
- Children’s Tylenol- I use this for high fevers mainly but it seems to help for ear infection pain as well.
- Humidifier- Warm or cold mist are both great. I have both but I don’t really notice a difference in which one work better. A little drop of Menthol in the water is nice for the warm mist ones.
- Filtered water- for the humidifiers.
- Vitamin E liquid gels- I don’t mean to take orally. Prick one of these and squeeze the oil out. You can rub it directly onto sore red noses to help the skin feel better or you can add it to your favorite lotion.
- Ice packs and heating pads
- Light blanket
- Travel pillow- These little U shaped suckers are perfect for propping behind the low back, keeping ice packs in place, and putting in between or under knees or arms. You can even use them as cup holders for when they need to keep their drinks close but you don’t want them to get knocked over. They are so cheap to buy and super easy to machine wash.
- Walkie talkies- Even the little kid toy variety work well in the house. It’s a good way to check up on them or for them to ask you for stuff without having to leave their get well nest.
- Non-skid socks- When you have a fever socks ARE THE BEST. So easy to put on and take off. If you have a favorite pair of fluffy socks you can easily turn them into non-skid by putting some lines from a hot glue gun on the bottom.
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