As I write this article, I’m constantly checking on my sleeping child via CCTV, as he is at the tail-end of a back-to-back respiratory infection that got me on a wild anxiety spiral (because the first infection landed us in the hospital!).

I know I’m not alone. Flu season is in full swing, and every parent of school-aged kids can feel it. ERs are packed to the brim with sick children (and adults!), the lines at doctors’ clinics are long, and moms and dads are catching whatever their kids had, bringing the whole house down.

If you’re an anxious parent like me, this guide is for you. Knowledge is power – and when we’re armed with the information we need to navigate “sick” season, we can get through it with more confidence and (hopefully) less chaos. Whether it’s the flu or another viral infection (because there are plenty of them circulating!), here’s your primer to what you need, what to do, and how to make decisions as a family during a health challenge.

Don’t wait until one of your kids falls sick, or when it’s the height of flu season and plenty of items get sold out at the pharmacies. You should always maintain a steady stock of medicines and supplies at home so you’re ready for the next (inevitable) sickness.

Make sure you have these on-hand at home:

• Fever medication (such as paracetamol or ibuprofen)
• Vitamins (at the very least, Vitamin C + Zinc)
• Thermometer
• Fever patches
• Antihistamines (for kids with allergies)
• Pulse oximeter (make sure to get the kids’ version for accurate readings)
• Electrolyte drinks
• Inhaler, nebulizer, and nebulizer medicine, for kids with asthma or respiratory issues
• Your child’s HMO card, if they have one

Additionally, make sure you have your doctor’s number (or their clinic number) on your speed dial, in case you need to consult with them.

As parents, we are the biggest observers of our children, so we can pick up on little things that could help us in our decision-making.

1. Observe their demeanor. Do they seem tired or run-down? Are they falling asleep in the middle of dinner? Are they quieter than usual? Are they developing a tiny cough? Let them have an early bedtime and observe how they wake up in the morning. Sometimes, all they need is recovery through sleep; other times, these are signs that they’re about to come down with something.

2. Be wise about how you handle simple coughs and colds. I know we can’t always keep our child home for every single cough or cold; otherwise they would never go to school. But it’s important to know the progression of their symptoms and when they are most likely to infect other kids. The first 3-4 days of a cold are when you are most contagious, so it is good to keep your kids home during this time – they’re already probably feeling bad at this point, anyway.

3. Fever and vomiting? Definitely keep them home. These are two red flags that indicate that your child needs to stay home and rest.

When do you send your kids back to school? 

I know we don’t want our kids to miss too much school when they’re sick, but we don’t want to send them back when they’re not fully ready to engage in class yet (plus risk the chance of a recurring infection OR infecting their classmates!).

At this point, it is incredibly important to be in constant dialogue with your child’s pediatrician and his teachers. Most schools have policies regarding when kids can return to school after an illness – you may want to clarify this with your kids’ teachers. For a prolonged period of illness, they may be required to present a medical certificate clearing them to return to school, together with additional instructions from the physician.

When there is no guidance about this, it’s important to form your own guidelines as parents. For us in this family, we only send our son back to school when he has been fever-free (with no help from medicines) for at least 24 hours, vomit-free for at least 48 hours, and has the energy and disposition to participate in school activities. For longer illnesses, it’s when the doctor clears him and issues a certificate.

Sometimes, we add an additional recovery day just to be sure that his body has had plenty of time to heal. We also observe sleep patterns and only send him back when this is back to normal (sleeping and napping longer than usual indicates that the body still needs to rest).

1. Our children’s health is more important than the number of absences. It’s a tough thing to balance, because there are also school policies, and we also have to work. But we need to first be an advocate of our child’s health than anything else. Only when they are well are they able to fully engage in class and learn.

2. Be mindful of the rest of the class and the teachers. A simple cold for your child may be a high risk for an immunocompromised classmate. A sick child in class also means that the teacher’s attention may also end up being divided as they try to care for the one kid who isn’t feeling well.

3. Keep encouraging your child to mask up, especially during flu season. Make it a practice to use face masks when going out for everyone’s protection. When returning to class, it might even be a good idea to keep that mask on for a few more days.

4. Partner with your child’s teachers. Most teachers are more than willing to help your child make up for any absences. Have an open conversation with them to come up with means and methods to help your child catch up. If your child is at home recovering, yet already has the energy to take on simple tasks, consider asking their teacher for worksheets or gentle activities that they can try.

5. Don’t mask their illness! Please don’t give your child fever medicine and then send them off to school. It doesn’t make them any less contagious, plus they will feel worse when the medicine wears off. Also – teachers can tell!

6. Don’t doom-scroll on Reddit or Google. We go to the Internet to find answers when the doctor takes too long to reply, but the horror stories and ominous search results we’re bound to get from hours of searching can do a number on our anxiety. Don’t do it.

7. Be kind to yourself. We’re bound to lose a lot of sleep every time our child gets sick. Find pockets of time to look after yourself – do some deep breathing, drink water, swap with your partner and take in some fresh air, make yourself a coffee. A healthy, regulated parent is what our sick kids need – they can smell our stress and anxiety from a mile away, and it affects them as well.

8. Remind yourself: this, too, will pass. With proper rest, hydration, and TLC, most children will recover well, and they will go back to school. Flu season will eventually end. It is so hard to be in the trenches, caring for a sick child while working and trying not to get sick yourself, but it will not last forever.