You never know when a winter sick day is going to sneak up on kids. In addition to the usual — fever reducers, chicken soup, tea, honey, ginger ale, extra pillows and blankets — keep the following products stashed to make the day go smoother and help your child feel better quickly.
Kids get the giggles despite a sniffly nose when they pull tissues out of the Sarut mustache tissue box (above), which features a slot for you to insert a pic of your own child underneath a 3-D nose and mustache. ($12.50)
The Vicks V977 infrared thermometer is Consumer Reports’ highest-rated noninvasive model for accuracy and mom-friendly features — like a forehead swipe that gives a reading in three seconds, a color-display system that graphically represents the temperature grade and a MemoryTracker that recalls the last 12 temps checked. ($33.49-$52.85)
MadLibs might as well have been made for mom-kid interaction during sick days. The fill-in-the-blanks books bring the funny and get kids stretching their grammar and vocab muscles as they search for the right adjectives, pronouns and verbs to complete the sentences.
Card games that keep kids in bed are a good sick-day activity. WuzzIts is a monster-centric challenge that reinforces counting and matching skills. ($12.99)
Finally, before a recuperative naptime, read your sickie a picture book about a friend in a similar circumstance. Titles like Jordan’s Silly Sick Day by Justine Fontes and A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead soothe while they inspire kids to feel better fast.
