Having a child in pre school has ushered in the many plethoras of colds, viruses and diseases. If I am being honest, this is one part of the parenting journey I could happily do without. Since September our little one has been sick averaging about every second week. The latest being ‘fifth disease’ which, thankfully once you have had, you rarely contract again. We are going through all these firsts right now and oy, not fun.

Being that dealing with sickness is one of my least favourite things, I am working on using mindfulness as a way to help us cope as a family and as a primary care giver by doing a few of these things:

Embrace your forced down time.

I have been using these moments where working & doing productive home activities are not conducive with tending to a little by enjoying reading. I always have a stack of books I am working on and there has been a lot of reading the past few weeks. No complaints there.

Get your vitamins & immune system nutrients

Turmeric Smoothies, butternut squash soups, kale smoothies, Kale chips, staying hydrated are all part of keeping the body prepared to fight against bacteria and illnesses.

Let Go of the Plan Book

I have a lot of running ‘to dos’, ‘events’, things I want to do etc. But part of staying mindful during the cold season, is to fully embrace the change that comes when it becomes obvious that you can’t do what you had planned. It can be very disheartening as the primary care giver who also has a career of ones own to let go of appointments, work tasks, etc, but these are all stages of life and it won’t last forever.

Attempt a bit of Fun

Introducing our daughter to a few new episodes of her favourite shows, pulling out an old toy from our childhood, and telling her stories from our own childhoods is a way to give her a bit of joy when a fever, rash or sore throat has her down.