I recently injured my back on a day where I was planning to be at home with my kids being a super parent.
It was so simple – I picked my daughter up and when I put her back down, I hit the decks and couldn’t get back up again.
My partner works for himself and can’t just take a day off at the drop of a hat, so he had to leave me, abandoned, bent over like a crooked old hag and drugged up to the eyeballs.
I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t lift the kids and I certainly couldn’t drive so I had to improvise to get through the day with the kids.
If you’ve ever had any illness or injury as a parent, you know that you don’t just get a day off to feel sorry for yourself – you have to roll up your sleeves, grit your teeth and figure out a way to get on with it.
Here’s how we survived:
1. Don’t Freak Them Out
My son is four-and-a-half and would be very upset if he thought that I was really in a bad way. So I calmly explained to him that my back was a little bit sore and would get better soon, and that I needed him to be a Super Hero for the day to help mum out. He accepted the honour, the little legend.
2. Use Bribery
I also promised a trip to Smyths Toy Store for helping mum get through the day. There, I said it. Every parent under the weather will go to that desperate place when they need their kids to stop smashing Lego off the floor for five minutes, throw the Argos catalogue to them and cry, ‘Pick anything you like, just stop banging, pleeeeeease!’
3. Bring On The Netflix
As I was confined to the couch, we created ‘Movie Morning’ whereby the kids lounged on the beanbags with a few treats and binge-watched a few episodes of their favourite shows. It was, hands down, the greatest gift I gave myself that day.
4. Go Full-On Costume Room
In terms of keeping the kids entertained, one thing that really takes up a good chunk of time is dress-up. I got Jacob to bring Eva to the playroom and decide on different costumes that they wanted to try on and then come back to the couch to ‘surprise me’. They had loads of fun doing it and I had some time alone with my misery.
5. Have Story Time
Audio books might be your greatest friend if you are feeling crappy. You can get the kids to snuggle with you on the couch (or on their own chairs if you are in desperate need of nobody touching your sore back) and let everyone listen to their favourite stories being read aloud. Total winner.
6. Get Dancing
We are all shiny, happy dancers in our house – we have a disco ball that slots into our regular light fittings and it is the CRAIC. Musical statues is always a winner and if you are already stuck to the couch, you can totally control the music from your mobile phone!
7. Let Them Help
Jacob was just so thrilled to help make me ‘better’ and kept bringing me drinks when I needed them. We have one of those water dispensers on the fridge door so obviously most of it ended up on the floor but his playing ‘doctor’ gave him a real sense of purpose for the day that meant he didn’t really cause me any trouble until my other half got home.
8. Ask For Help
My own dad happened to be free that day and came around with painkillers AND took Jacob off for an hour so that was a huge help. When I got a WhatsApp message with a photo of a box of Rolling Donuts in the car, signalling that my other half was coming home early to help out (AND was bringing those delicious treats), I literally cried with relief. We all need help sometimes!
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