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It depends on the child. You can have a very independent 4 year old or a very dependent 25 year old. I remember getting up one morning to find DD (around 5 at the time) lying on the couch with some sprite and munching on some saltines. She had a bathroom trash can with a grocery bag inside of it as a liner. She told me she had woken up a few hours earlier not feeling well, so she went to the bathroom in case she was about to vomit. When that didn't happen, she took her temperature. Since it was only a bit high, she went to the kitchen and got a bottle of Sprite that we keep in the back of the pantry for these occasions, poured herself a glass, grabbed the saltines and then got the trash can, put the liner in it and went to lie on the couch. She said that she was fine so she didn't feel the need to wake me. I also woke up to the washing machine running a few months later and found out that she had gotten sick in her bed so she went and put her sheets in the washer and was climbing into the shower when I found her.
She is an independent and observant kid who has picked up on these things just from watching us in the past, or just from instinct.
I also know a 22 year old who had no idea how to use a thermometer (a digital one) or even what a normal temperature was.
I have also been so sick that even as an adult, I am begging for my mommy. Mommy even came and took care of me when I was that sick. Sometimes, kids just want Mommy when they are sick.
I think that each illness should be dealt with calmly. This also goes for doctor or dentist visits. I try to explain each visit and why they are important. Both of my kids are pretty good about going with the flow health wise. My son has had a few stomach problems and has been pretty good about making it to the toilet to do his business. If he is feeling like throwing up, we make sure we put his trash can with liner by his bed. He is quite a trooper and doesn't whine that much. He has had several surgeries and he has always been really good. I will also give credit to my daughter as well.
One of my dear friends has a habit of reacting to her children's ailments in a pretty emotional manner. A scrapped knee will turn into an epic melt down for several hours. She will respond with extreme emotion and her kids will respond accordingly.
I'm sorry, but I don't think leaving a 10 year old to look up ailments online. A simple headache can turn into "I'm going to die soon" when you're reading about it online.
This is part of my daughter's health class for the year. She has to research different illnesses and make posters about prevention. Her lessons have links to the different websites they want them to use to research the illnesses. I don't see the harm of it at all.
I don't really understand the OP, but I think a child's reaction is often a reflection of how their parents react to illness and stress. Keeping calm, teaching them age-appropriate information regarding minor ailments, and setting the precedent that people should receive preventive medical care all go a long way.
I also don't understand why you are trying to teach a child to handle being sick. As you get older, it's something that just happens. You don't really teach it to a child. It comes with age and independence.
That being said, my mom took care of me until I moved out, and even now, when I'm sick, she says she wishes she could be close to me to help out. My husband and I take care of each other if one of us is sick, and we're grown adults. Could we take care of ourselves? Sure. But when you love and care for someone, you sympathize with them and want to be there for them in any way possible.
Until my children are in their teens, I won't be expecting them to care for themselves when sick. And even then, I will of course be caring for them as much as possible. Only, by that age, for minor illnesses, I likely wouldn't stay home from work to care for them during the day. That's about the only difference I can think of in the way I would act as their mom.
I don't understand your response to the op. This response was another one of your judgemental and presumptious responses to threads.
I didn't get judgment or presumption from her response. She simply stated that she didn't understand the OP and then gave an answer to what she thought was the question.
I am talking about the non-fatal, pass in a few days kinds of ailments, that dont require a hospital, doctor, or expensive drug treatments or any drugs for that matter. The ones everyone gets as a kid, and even as adults. Eventually a kid has to learn to take care of himself.
How is a child supposed to know this? It may seem routine to you, but for a child it may well be their very first experience with this. The last thing you need is a youngster making value judgements about what is & is not serious, without parental involvement.
You need to be involved, but don't over-react. Be calm & comforting, and if you end up taking them to the doctor explain why (as opposed to treating at home with bed rest) so they can make these judgements on their own in the future.
I find the question very odd & somewhat troubling. The way it appears to me is that a little parental recalibration is called for in this case. It's like asking "How would I teach my child to deal with a bully on their own?" The answer is, you don't.
How would you teach your child to deal with the common everyday ailments like Diarrhea (ewww !!!), allergies, canker sores in the mouth, and physical injuries like cuts, mild sprains, bleeding noses etc?
And also non-fatal but really annoying sicknesses like Strep throat, influenza, and of course the always fun Stomach virus or noro-virus. As a child, I was very active and social, so I caught all those from my fellow babies. Whenever it was something that felt like my stomach was feeling weezy, the solution was always go use the toilet, or vomit. When the misery wasnt my stomach, and just all over the body, the problem must have been a fever. In this case, get a cold towel and put it on your head, take some tylenol, and drink fluids.
Any experts know how to instruct a child so he can take care of his own illnesses? I remember, when I felt like vomitting, I tried to hold out as long as I could. For some reason, I thought vomiting was kind of uncomfortable. Anyone have an explanations for that?
Since you keep saying "child" I am going to assume that you are talking about a child and not a teen (you have been asked the age of your child and not responded).
You will not find experts that will respond here, because a child is too young to take care of themselves. You are there to diagnose and treat and show them that you love them. Children should not be taking medicine own their own; they should always be supervised by an adult. If, heaven forbid, there was an allergic reaction, how would you know for sure what that they had taken medicine or what medicine or how much. You might think that you know, but you can't be 100% without being there when they took it.
All illness needs monitoring in case things get worse or even don't get better. That takes an adult to monitor, a child cannot have the knowledge about those things, nor should be expected to know all of the worst case scenarios. (Talk about scaring your child and causing damage)
Even a teen needs some supervision and coddling.
I can't believe that you are wanting to abdicate your role as caregiver to someone that still requires a caregiver.
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