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Helping Older Siblings Care for Younger Siblings

It is not unusual for couples or single parents to need a babysitter. Often if they have older children they add this to that child’s responsibilities. It could just be for a few hours after school to during the day or evening for several hours.

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 11: Jocelyn Taub, a job-h... 

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There are things an older sibling should know when caring for younger siblings. It could be simple instructions given to the older siblings by the parent. Nevertheless, there could be emergency situations meaning that Mommy and Daddy need to be sure a plan is designed to handle these unforeseen situations. A plan should be in place or at least the older sibling should know what needs to be done in the event of an emergency. Many feel it is best for the babysitter to show responsibilities first before giving the job of caring for a younger sibling. This would ensure they can handle an emergency even if it is not something they have a plan to handle. They need to know who to call or what steps to take in an emergency, such as if they need to administer first aid.

Many of the responsibilities given to the older sibling who is babysitting should be age appropriate. Perhaps a 14-year-old would be told not to use the stove, but could cook in the microwave while an 18-year-old sibling is allowed to use the stove. Make sure the older sibling and younger sibling know who is in charge. The older sibling is working in place of the parents. The same rules are in place and these rules are expected to be followed by everyone.

 

Filed Under: Medical Care, Parents Needs Tagged With: , ,

Helping Your Child Cope with Health Care Treatment

Family Readiness Group Meeting 

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If you are a parent with a child that is coping with an illness that requires regular treatments, you may be wondering if there are ways to help your child deal with those treatments. It can be challenging, not only for the child, but for the whole family as well. Because each member of the family may be affected differently, each member will have different needs that need to be addressed and dealt with.

One way to help your child and family is to use active coping plans and strategies. Professionals from the healthcare industry maintain that these strategies will help the entire family. Here are a few strategies that can help you, your child and your family.

As the parent, you must take care of yourself. You should understand and be able to cope with your child’s illness. You will need to live a full daily life, combined with your child’s medical appointments. Take care of yourself and stay healthy. You don’t want to become ill while caring for your child.

Get your family, as well as your child, to maintain a family routine. While you may want to do all the “normal” things you did before the illness, you may find that you cannot attend all the birthday parties, volunteer as much as you’d like or other activities; you do need to realize this is not the end of the world. In fact, trying to maintain a busy schedule may add stress to the child.

If you need to, have you and your child find a support group. Being with others in the same situation will give you added support and help.

 

Filed Under: Medical Care, Parents Needs Tagged With: , ,

How a New Mommy Can Learn How to Care for a Sick Baby

It is always heartbreaking when your baby gets sick. It is even worse when you are a new mommy who is not sure how to handle the baby when he or she is sick. If you are a mommy who is expecting a precious bundle of joy soon and you want to be prepared for this unfortunate event, there are some things that you can do to help you to gain the knowledge that you need in order to effectively care for your baby and get him or her well again.

Baby books are an excellent resource for learning how to deal with common ailments, as it concerns your baby. You can learn things, like how to treat a fever, the flu, diarrhea, or the common cold. It is important that you read these books thoroughly because treatments are not always the same for babies as they are for adults. Not to mention, babies must take medicines that are specific to babies. Anything else can be very harmful.

You can also ask your pediatrician. Your pediatrician will be able to give you pamphlets that will help you to address your baby’s health concerns, as well as provide you with expert advice.

Finally, there is the Internet. On the Internet, you can find out everything you need to know concerning how to treat a baby’s ailments. Just type what you want to know in the search engines, and you will be given tons of information. You can even join parenting message boards, where parents will provide you with advice based on their own personal experience.

Being a new mommy does not have to be scary. Just arm yourself with the information needed, things will be fine.

Filed Under: Need to Know, Parents Needs Tagged With: , , ,

Ways to Teach Your kids How to Deal with Emergency Situations

There have been numerous cases when kids have had to help their parents in emergency situations. Their parents have passed out on the floor, had heart attacks, or have become serious ill. If these kids did not know what to do, these parents would have died. It is essential that you teach your kids how to handle emergency situations, just in case something should happen to you or someone in the family. Here are some ways that you can do this.

First things first, you must teach your kids the emergency number. Kids as young as 3 years of age can learn how to dial it. Explain that it is important that this number is dialed only for very serious emergency situations and that it is not to be for play. Work with your kids in learning the number, until they grasp it.

You will also want to teach your kids your home address. If they do not know your home address, they will not be able to properly get help. Work with them on this repetitively, until they can rattle it off with confidence. It is important that they can say your home address without thinking about it because when emergency situations actually occur, it will be very difficult for them to think of the address because they will be freaked out and upset. It is very difficult to think when one is like that.

If you have any health problems that could cause emergency situations to occur from time to time, you will want to teach your kids what to do when these occur. When they can address these emergency situations, they can stabilize you enough, until the medics come.

When kids know how to handle emergency situations, they will be less afraid. They will have confidence because they have proper knowledge, which will enable them to take charge and get things done.

Filed Under: Need to Know, Parents Needs Tagged With: ,

Helping a Worried Child Handle Emergency Preparedness

Some children are natural worriers the same way that other children are naturally quiet or naturally athletic. When you are raising a child who tends to worry about bad situations, it can be tough to know how to talk about disasters and emergency preparedness. Still, it is important to have discussions and find ways to calm fears through information.

Have a Plan
You may worry about upsetting a worried child with details about an emergency plan, but many worriers feel better when they know that the adults in their life have thought things through and know how to take care of them in an emergency. Go over the details of your plan and what you would do in each situation. Go over the roles of each family member and what things the child is responsible for during an emergency (eg: getting to safety, finding a parent or trusted adult).

Answer Questions
Encourage your child to ask questions about different types of emergencies or what would happen in a situation. If you don’t know the answer, you can look for it together and learn more about what you would do. It is important for you both to answer questions and know how to act in a disaster. When a child has their questions answered, they often begin to relax and feel ready for any situation they may face in the future.

Discuss the Odds
It is important to remind all children, especially worried children, that we make emergency plans and hope that we never have to use them. In fact, most people who make plans will never find themselves in a situation where they need to use it. Plans are made to keep us safe just in case. You can use funny examples to stress the odds of things happening and help your child to feel better about the idea of the plan.

Filed Under: Emergencies, Medical Care, Need to Know Tagged With: , , ,