Not Another Sick Day!

As working parents, one of the most dreaded occurrences is the sick day—either yours or your kids'. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or a call from school for a pickup, let’s be honest; this situation can be a huge pain. Our neatly planned out work meetings and project deadlines all of a sudden have a massive wrench thrown into them.

I have two small kids, and here is some advice that I wish I had received when I started down my mom-journey. 

Full disclosure: this doesn’t work for everyone, and I know each person’s situation is different. So, as with all my posts, take what helps and discard the rest.

The Work Part

First and foremost, don’t say “sorry.” You have nothing to apologize for, and it’s not your fault. While dealing with a sick day can be inconvenient, it's not insurmountable. Many of the things we do can be adjusted to accommodate.

So after you DON’T apologize, you’ll need to quickly communicate with your team. Send out emails, texts, or calls and adjust the things that need to be adjusted. Communicate to your clients any potential delays. We’re all people, and most of us understand when we need to take care of sick kids.

Then prioritize your tasks. Change in-person meetings to virtual meetings, reschedule meetings to another day, and utilize shared drives to work on projects. What can wait until another day, and what has to be done today? What can you delegate to another team member?

Utilize a flexible plan for the day that includes your work priorities and gaps for breaks. Communicate throughout the day with your team and client. Then embrace the power of breaks to attend to your child's needs and maintain your own well-being. Honestly, taking a quick break for respite helped me from losing my mind.

The Kid Part

The second side to the sick day coin is that now your kid needs to be taken care of for the whole day. If you have a local support system (I didn’t), then tap into that. Ask family and friends for help if you can. Even a few hours of help will lessen your load.

On sick days, my kids start bouncing off the walls around lunchtime, and I don’t really love plugging them into the screen for the whole day. So on sick days, I try to keep the activities varied but simple. Here is what a recent sick day schedule looked like for me and one of my kiddos. I tried 30-minute and 1-hour blocks of time (except for the movie) to help break up the day and it seemed like the right span of time for my kids’ attention span.

8:30 - 10:30	I logged onto my computer and got some work done while my kid watched a movie. They got to relax and I was productive.
10:30	I took a break and we played a brief board game. Uno and Guess Who are staples.
11:00	We made a fort in the living room and my kid entertained themselves with toys and legos in the fort until lunch.
12:30	We ate lunch together in the fort.
1:00 - 2:00	I worked and my kid did art time and toy time in the fort (The fort was a hit today, but it isn’t always.)
2:00 - 2:30	We went for a short walk. The weather was good and I needed to move my body. The fresh air was also good for both of us.
2:30 - 3:30	We got the paints out and my kid painted next to me at the dining table while I participated in some meetings.
3:30	Snack break for both of us
3:45 - 4:45	My kid wanted to do more art so I let them while I worked. I also would have been fine with letting them play a game on their tablet because they hadn’t been on a screen since the morning. A puzzle also would have worked during this time slot.

Then the day was done and we went to get my youngest from daycare. We both survived, my work got done, and neither of us had a melt down! That’s a win in my book!

Sick Day Supply Closet

• Basic art supplies, and lots of paper

• Games that are easy and quick to play. Like Guess Who, Uno, 

• Legos

• Puzzles

• Activity books