— Flu Fearful
Dear Fearful, Cold and flu season is indeed upon us. This means lots of runny noses, coughs and watery eyes in our little ones and, when it’s a virus, not much for mommy and daddy to do but wait it out. There is nothing worse than taking your healthy angel to a Baby & Me class and watching a little one sneeze on her. Blaming the parent is a natural instinct: “How could they bring him here when he’s sick.”
Here’s an update: You are never going to control other parents, some will stay home with a sick child, some will not. You can, however, take some preventative steps yourself: ■ Make sure your child drinks plenty of fluids, preferably water. ■ Make sleep a priority — well rested children get sick less. ■ Wash your hands and the hands of your little one more times than you can imagine — this is the No. 1 way to prevent picking up a cold or flu virus. ■ Press the pause button when you see a sick child — remember that nobody takes a sick child out with the intent to get everyone sick, it could just be “one of those days.”
Keep your eye on spring and stay healthy. Good luck. — Dorie (Dorie Meek is director of the Infant & Family Support Program, provided by Saint John’s Health Center in partnership with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Meek answers questions concerning children ages birth to 5 years old. Submit your questions to “Dear Dorie” at, or call (310) 452-6132; fax (310) 452-6392).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 29, 2005. Read the original PDF.