15 tips for looking after your toddler when they're poorly

Having a poorly little one is never fun especially if they are contagious and you both end up in quarantine. Here are M&B's genius hacks for dealing with a child who's poorly...



1) Keep the TV planner stocked
You can never have enough episodes of Octonauts or Thomas & Friends at your disposal. 


2) Be prepared
You never know when illness will strike. Don’t make the amateur mistake of running down your Calpol stocks. 


3) Rewind to baby days
All of a sudden, naps, nursery rhymes and cuddly toys will make a return while the patient recuperates. 


4) One-Click wonder
Amazon Prime pays for itself with films, books and the medicine you can't get hold of at any pharmacy. 


6) Secret Santa
Hide a couple of presents at Christmas for entertainment emergencies in the dark days of chicken pox recovery. 


7) Domestic goddess
Enforced time at home will mean you will focus on every tiny household job that needs doing. There will be no cobwebs left anywhere and you’ll finally use those painting test pots to ‘touch up’ the scuffs on your walls! 


8) Screen break
They might embrace their digital childhoods usually, but when illness strikes, nothing beats a comic for a poorly little one. 


9) Savour the moment
Actually, the long afternoons with quite child on your knee and the odd film watched together are very precious times. 


10) Cabin fever
Once infectiousness passes, get outdoors to stretch their legs (and reclaim your sanity). A trip to post a letter will feel like an exotic holiday. 


11) Early nights
You might not be ill yourself but observe a sensible bedtime: when the midnight cry comes, you’ll feel less horrific if you’ve banked some sleep. 


12) Sticker books will be your saviour
Worry about removing the stubborn little marks at a later date… 


13) House arrest has perks
There’s no harm in keeping an eye on your favourite online outlets – you’ll be at home for deliveries at least.Now read:
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