Medical Tidbit for Kids

In light of a high fever that has occurred at our home this evening, I wanted to share a piece of information that my husband and I find invaluable in times of sickness.

When Sam was first diagnosed with his heart condition, we had to give him so much Tylenol and Motrin in order to keep his fevers down (fevers for him are life threatening) that we began to become concerned that we might over medicate him.  Thus, the chart was born:

Name of Child	Med & Dose	Time Given	Parent

Not the sick one this time

We keep this printed chart (with many more cells) on our bathroom counter with a pen close by.  Now that we have more than one child, we have had to add the "Name of Child" cell, because, inevitably, more than one child will get sick at a time.  Oftentimes, if the fever is extra high or stubborn, we will add another row entitled "Temperature" or just scribble it in somewhere on the chart.  The cell that you can't see completely on the right says "Parent."

When it comes time to see the pediatrician, this little chart comes in mighty handy.  We know exactly when the fever occurred, how often we medicated (even breaks or gaps in between) and which parent was doing the medicating.  Generally speaking, I am the medicine caregiver in our family.  However, on the off-chance that I am tending to another child or sitting in a dark room holding a sick baby, my husband will get the medication prepared and hand it to me.  He signs the chart as though he has given the medicine on those occasions.

So, just another small tidbit from a mom with a special needs kiddo - something that might make any family move a little more functionally during sickness.  I hope it helps.