In my few years of experience, having a sick child is one of the most helpless feelings as a parent. I know that we all get sick and that it’s just part of boosting our immune systems, but I still hate it when my girls are miserable and uncomfortable. If I can help them feel any relief or shorten the length of time that they’re experiencing symptoms, I’m going to do that for them.
This post is my personal list of everything we have used to soothe cold and flu symptoms for our toddler / preschooler and I hope you find it useful!
PREVENTION
If you’re reading this, you may already be in the thick of child sickness which means it’s too late to implement any of these to ward off illness, but I felt like it’s all worth sharing anyway (since there will be a next time… 😞).
Make sure that your little one is up-to-date with their routine vaccinations and boosters — this seems pretty obvious, but it’s an easy thing to forget as a busy parent!
Encourage regular hand washing for everyone in your household! This is a really great life skill that all kids should carry with them into adulthood (obviously, you don’t want to create an obsession, but it’s definitely a healthy habit to be in!).
If your little one is old enough, I definitely recommend a daily Chewable Multi-Vitamin especially if they are picky eaters (which makes it hard for us to make sure they’re getting all of the nutrients and minerals they need!) so a daily multivitamin is a great way to help support a healthy diet and immune system. Obviously, you should consult your pediatrician first, but I think most would agree that a multivitamin would be beneficial.
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Boost their immune systems with Vitamin C rich fruits and veggies, such as clementines! These are one of Sophie’s favorite fruits to snack on and I personally think that Cuties are the superior brand — the others we have tried (Halos, Sunkist, etc.) have all been more challenging to peel with thick pith and a much higher instance of seeds. Highly recommend picking up a bag on your next grocery store run!
I’m personally a big Zicam (zinc supplement) dissolvable tablet user when I feel a cold coming on, but my friend Jess swears that their nasal swab is even more effective and she uses it on her toddler daughter as well? Every little bit helps to boost the immune system to fight off a cold!
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TIPS
Preparation
Even if your little one is just dealing with a cold (and nothing that requires a doctor / Urgent Care visit) it can’t hurt to discuss doctor appointments to help demystify the experience and help them feel more comfortable with what to expect from a visit to a medical office.
I was elated when one of our previous Lovevery boxes included this book about getting a checkup — it’s a great way to explain the process with “real life” photos for their reference.
I also like to bring fun “bravery badges” (read: band-aids) with us to appointments for any medicines / vaccination injections to help make the experience a little less upsetting for our girls.
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“Playing doctor” is always a good route too with imaginative play, either with one another or with dolls / stuffed animals! We love using this cute set for that type of dramatic play.
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Nose Blowing
We have been using a nasal aspirator for quite some time, but Sophie has finally mastered being able to blow her nose! She HATED the nasal aspirator (I don’t blame her; I imagine it feels terrible) so I’m really happy that she can get some relief while also avoiding the tears.
One suggestion that I have is to buy the tissues with aloe / lotion on them or to stay vigilant about putting lotion or even a bit of petroleum jelly (as skin protectant) on their little noses or they’re going to get raw and chapped.
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Medicine Taking
Oh good grief, what a nightmare it is to give children medicine — even flavored ones! 😵💫 Please consult your pediatrician to get the appropriate dosage for your child as well as the guidelines for when to administer children’s acetaminophen.
If your little one is still taking liquid medicine (as I suspect they are) these liquid syringes are so easy for dispensing the right dosage of medicine without any spillage or residual product in the tiny measuring cup that comes with liquid medicines.
I can’t imagine that it’s an enjoyable experience to have a medicinal liquid quickly fill your mouth or a strong squirt of medicine hit you in the back of the throat, so I suggest going fairly slow when administering the dosage instead of pressing the syringe depressor quickly (which I know is tempting because you want to literally “shoot your shot” and get the whole thing over with!). That toddler gag reflex will likely work against you otherwise, so just go slow. 😉
Our pediatrician recommended trying to angle the syringe so that you aim for the inside of their cheek to help buffer the stream of medicine. We also take mini breaks at Sophie’s request to “rinse” her mouth (read: take sips of water) between medicine squirts. This method may not work for you, but it’s been an effective way for me to get Sophie to take her medicine.
I also recently discovered chewable Tylenol tablets! What a gamechanger! Since Sophie already takes a chewable daily multivitamin she’s familiar with eating the tabs. She isn’t wild about the available flavors (bubblegum and grape) so it still requires a bit of coercion to get her to take the tab, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than giving her liquid if we can avoid it.
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Additionally, here are some extra tips I got from @resilientrascals to help your little one take medicine:
First, you can try mixing it into whipped cream, applesauce, whatever they like.
You can also try chilling it in the fridge — this bypasses the taste buds.
If your little one’s medicine is a prescription, you can often request the pharmacy to add a flavor to make it more palatable for them.
Or you can talk with your care team about capsules (if the dose makes sense), and you can open them and mix the powder into things.
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Lastly, in regard to administering medicine, I also found these Tips for Getting Your Toddler to Take Medicine to be helpful!
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GEAR
Humidifier
We finally upgraded our humidifier this year and it is so much easier to fill (which was my biggest gripe with our last one). It can also be controlled remotely, which isn’t a must-have by any means, but it certainly makes it easier to adjust if your little one is snoozing and you need to be stealthy! I also love the Auto mode which detects how much moisture is in the air and adjusts to release the ideal cool mist volume accordingly — truly a “set it and forget it” situation.
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Hypertonic Saline Spray
From what I understand about this product, it essentially works as a non-medicated nasal spray. The hypertonic aspect just means that it is more concentrated, so in this case with a saline solution there is a higher salt content. This type of solution could help reduce congestion by drawing more water out of the congested tissue which reduces swelling and opens up the nasal passages // sinus openings to allow for better drainage.
When I recently took Sophie to Urgent Care (she just had a regular Upper Respiratory Infection, but we wanted to rule out anything more serious) the physician on staff recommended hypertonic saline as a home remedy to help clear up her sinuses. By the time the cans of nasal spray that I ordered had arrived for Sophie she had actually moved past her draining / congestion, but I’m certain she’ll be sick again soon so we’ll be prepared for the next time!
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Chest Rub
Sophie absolutely loves this baby-safe (read: no menthol) chest rub — she always asks for a second application! 😂 Since there’s always a little bit of residual product on my fingers I also always do a light swipe on the area above her top lip, just under her nose as a little extra nostril boost. We always use the rub just before she goes to sleep, but if she asks for it any other time of day I am happy to oblige. Highly recommend! A little pot lasts a LONG time since you don’t need much per application.
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Decongestant Bath Bombs
Fizzy bath bombs just make bathtime a bit more fun… and you can totally throw in some light up toys to boost the experience further! Sometimes we even pop the bath bombs into this bath bomb wand for Sophie to play with in the water.
Maximize that bathtime steam-powered decongestion by kicking it up a notch with these kiddo-friendly decongestant bath bombs! We’re big fans.
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Hot / Cold Gel Packs
I hadn’t considered using our gel packs for anything aside from bumps and scrapes, but my preschooler was recently battling a fairly intense upper respiratory infection and her sinuses got super irritated from all of the nose blowing. We were nervous that things had developed into a sinus infection so we looked up what home remedies we could be doing with her.
Thankfully, we were already doing everything else recommended for her age (giving her steamy baths, using a cold mist humidifier, etc.) with the exception of one: warm compresses! I hadn’t even considered those as a way to relieve inflammation in the face, but it makes total sense!
We love these gel pads that can be used either warm or cold and the cute faces make them extra appealing to littles! They’re great to have on hand — I always keep two in the freezer and one ready to be warmed up, just in case.
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Barf Bags
Probably the least glamorous suggestion here, but omg SO handy to have around the house, in the car, in your tote, etc. if your kiddo has that version of the flu. I didn’t know they existed until I was in the hospital delivering Sophie and needed to retch — the nurse brought me one of these and simply tossed it after I finished. Gross, but SUCH A BRILLIANT INVENTION! I immediately ordered a sleeve for our house so we could utilize that easy cleanup if someone can’t make it to the toilet in time (goodbye, Barf Bowl™️).
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If you have a baby, there are a few overlapping topics, but I have even more baby-specific tips for helping them through cold and flu season here!
Lastly, this feels like a good post to share this list of medicine cabinet recommendations from a pediatrician for both cold / flu and beyond.
Ugh, having sick kiddos is awful, and trying to take care of them while you are ALSO feeling sick is the absolute WORST. I hope these tips and products are helpful. Wishing everyone a very speedy recovery!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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