Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
Here are a few mistakes that we as parents unintentionally make when our children fall sick:
- Worry too much and Google the symptoms: My Advice - Stay away from media and give that attention to your child. Google helps, but you don’t know what to take and what to leave. Being a parent of an ill child is already something that makes you anxious and googling the symptoms will only add to your stress.
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Look for a cause: If it’s allergic, alright; we need to find the culprit. For fevers, mostly in children below 5 years, it could be viral. Asking yourself ‘Why?’ and even asking the doctor ‘Why?’ won't give you any answers. So, stop obsessing over ‘Why’ and focus on ‘HOW’ to heal the child sooner.
- Asking the doctor for investigations or labelling them to be ‘Not a Good Doctor’ because they didn’t prescribe antibiotics. Yes! You read it right. Doctors are humans and know the significance and the role of antibiotics in fevers. So, they know when to prescribe what. Let's not question that.
- Stopping the antibiotics on your own: If prescribed, please finish off the course of 3 - 5 - 10 days. It is for the good of your child. Just because the child is fine now and has no fever, it doesn’t mean that you should stop it midway. If left halfway, infections need stronger doses in the future or the body’s microorganisms become resistant to these antibiotics.
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Don’t panic during a fever: Do as advised by the doctor. Cold-sponging and antipyretics as prescribed. Fever is a friend of the body. When infection rises, the body turns warm in order to prevent the microorganisms from increasing. Fever is an indicator of the presence of infection.
- Seek advice from multiple doctors: Out of anxiety, it’s a natural tendency to look out for cures as soon as possible and you would tend to visit or seek the opinion of every other doctor that your friend/relative suggests. Please stick to one doctor for at least one course of treatment because that doctor may have seen your kid from the start of the illness and would be in a better position to assess the future course – the diagnosis and the prognosis. They know better.
- Worrying about the child not eating well: Who likes to eat when they are unwell? And out of that obsession to eat, we may tend to offer unhealthy foods like biscuits or cookies or cake, just to see our child eat something. You are not feeding the baby, you are feeding the fever with such junk. Focus on hydration more than food. Offer fresh fruits or whatever the child normally eats and don’t obsess over the quantity. Let them eat how much ever they want.
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No screens please: We tend to offer the child more screen time to help them calm down or soothe the crying aching baby. That will not help you in the long run.
About The Author:
Dr Sarita Bhatia Jain is a Homoeopathic Doctor, practicing for over 12 years and has a special interest in Mother and Child care. Through her work, she aims at helping would-be moms and new moms in establishing a balance between societal myths and scientific facts; hence, making motherhood a peaceful journey.
