At this time of year, illness abounds. If it’s not a snotty toddler, it’s a barfing baby. And if you’re feeling pretty grotty too, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Having two under two is probably hardest when illness strikes.

Way back when…

When we welcomed our first baby, it didn’t really matter if we got sick. It sucked, of course. But we could all just climb into bed and suffer together within a few square feet. But if you have a baby AND a toddler to look after, it’s not so easy.

Either your toddler is fit and well and so wants to lark about (which you just don’t have the energy for) or they’re ill too but much more vocal about it. “Snotty nose” “I wod sum medishin” “Mummy cuggle”.

Tips

Here are some tips for getting through this bug-rich season and coming out the other side with your sanity (relatively) intact:

• WASH YOUR HANDS! Seriously, get OCD about it and scrub away. Dirty hands spread bugs like nobody’s business so keep them clean and you should all get well sooner. It’s good practice in general, too.
• Use the telly/your computer. It doesn’t make you a bad parent, so forget all that nonsense. Some cartoons, silly videos of cats falling into the bath etc. Laughter is the best medicine!
• You’re probably confined to the house, so research indoor play activities online. This is a great website for innovative learning games and entertainment – if you have the energy!
• Sterilise – it may be some months since you’ve sterilised your toddler’s stuff but revert back to it for the time being. Bottles, cups, dummies, spoons. Whatever goes near their mouths, chuck it in a big bowl of sterile water (get some dissolvable tablets, two or three can make a heck of a lot)
• Wrap up and get out – providing you’re not all projectile vomiting, a bit of fresh air might work wonders. You probably shouldn’t go to groups/shops/cafes etc. unless you want to infect the locals, but you can wrap up warm and push the double buggy around, even just for ten minutes or so.
• Keep those fluids up – ice pops, juice, milk – whatever they’ll drink, get it down them.
• Turn your sofa into one big bed. Grab duvets, pillows and soft toys to make a plushy den on the sofa where you can all hang out. You can prop your baby up with some toys and pop something on for your toddler to watch – or play some music/put the radio on.
• Got a play doctor’s kit? Order one on super-fast delivery if not! Toddlers love playing doctor and using the play equipment to tend to siblings.
• Do you have an iPhone or tablet? Surf for free kids’ applications. There are literally hundreds of touch-screen games and activities that your toddler will love. And some that will interest your baby too.

Any tips to add?

I’ve uploaded the final manuscript and Two under Two is now availabe to buy on Amazon.

Click on the image or here to get your copy. And I’d be extremely grateful if you could leave a review for potential readers.

Tip for the day: Don’t swear in front of your children…

Today calls for something of a confessional.

Recently, Jenny’s been shouting something that sounds like ‘fox snake!’ when she’s in her toy car or on her little wooden bike. It’s usually heard when she’s just crashed into a wall.

Now, this is a famlee blog, so I won’t commit to pixels what I think she is saying. But I think that, given the information above, you can figure it out.

Naughty words

Most parents will have run into the slight problem of their toddler saying rude words. Even if they haven’t tripped off the tongue of the parents themselves, these words get uttered all over the place and they’re bound to get picked up.

I won’t lie. I’m no saint and I have something of a potty mouth (here’s a little wave to my family and friends, who will be smirking knowingly right now), so I imagine Jenny probably picked up her latest bon mots from me.

Morphing

I realised pretty quickly I’d have to do something about the situation. Not least because Jenny’s granny was due to come and stay.

My sisters (after they laughed and took videos/the p*ss) and I started by trying to morph this phrase into ‘fox and snake’ in the hopes we could dress it up as a quote from a beloved story book.

But all this achieved was friends and family starting to use ‘fox and snake!’ as their newest expression of frustration.

This approach works with shorter naughty outbursts (sit, duck etc.) but didn’t really do the trick with such a blatantly obvious phrase.

Zero tolerance

So I decided I had to start to teach Jenny that it’s a naughty phrase and she shouldn’t say it. I wasn’t sure if this was the healthiest method so I approached with caution and made sure I wasn’t being unfair.

I started by telling her gently that she mustn’t shout ‘FOX SNAKE!’ any more. If she said it again that day I’d reiterate that it was naughty and that the next time, she would have to go on the naughty step if she said it.

It seems to be working for now (other than yesterday when she got into her car and said ‘I not say fox snake Mummy’ – wasn’t really sure how to deal with that one…).

I didn’t want her to get punished immediately for saying it, so thought a gradual method was safest. After all, she doesn’t know what a naughty word is yet.

She will, let’s give her a few more years under my roof.

Dealing with swear words

All hilarity aside (and there has been lots), if your toddler has picked up a swear word and you’re keen to get rid of it, make sure you take a gentle but no-nonsense approach. They don’t know what they’re doing and it’s all very funny in the house, but it can be pretty shaming when they start lobbing expletives around the supermarket.

I’d love to hear other tales about swearing toddlers. If only to make myself feel better…

This is one of the posts that didn’t make it into my book (y’know, social services and all that…). If you enjoyed reading this, take a look at Two under Two – coping with a baby and a toddler. Read, enjoy and review if you can!