Feed Me Books Friday: Grown-ups Get Sick, Too?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

And We Keep Plugging Along…


It was during a conversation about why kids nap and grown-ups don’t that B had this revelation about adults and illness. I told him grown-ups nap sometimes when they are sick to help them get better faster, and he responded incredulously. B is a pretty observant kid, so I think the fact that it had never occurred to him that Mommy and Daddy get coughs and runny noses was less due to inattention than our habit of trying to keep up the pace. As parents, many of us feel compelled to make sure our kids don’t suffer for our infirmities, so we have some hot tea with a day-quil chaser and try to go on with our normal day. Last couple days, I’ve been fighting some virus that B has been battling all week. My throat is sore, I’m achy and tired, but he’s feeling worse than me, so I’m putting aside my complaints to try to make him feel better.


If Laughter is the Best Medicine…
Farm Flu
Bring out the silly books! We are entertained by Farm Flu, by Teresa Bateman, anytime, but it’s especially good to coax out the grins when we’re under the weather. In this playful rhyming story, the young narrator is left in charge of the farm while his mother is gone. He finds a cow has come down with the flu, so he takes her inside to care for her. As time passes, other animals all over the farm begin to exhibit symptoms, and each is dutifully cared for by our sympathetic narrator who continues to base his treatment on the refrain, “I knew what Mom would do, If it were me that had the flu.” He also gets a taste of any mom’s frustration when her coddling has been taken advantage of. When he sets some limits for the “sick” animals and cuts out their unlimited TV, games, and popcorn, they quickly decide they aren’t so sick after all! They do, however, show their appreciation for the treatment they received when the boy comes down with the flu himself and they attend to him. I like both messages in this book, first (and funniest) that while being babied might feel nice when we’re sick, there is a limit to the “have-it-your-way” treatement; and second, sometimes the caretaker in the family needs some care too. Makes a nice springboard for discussion of caring for others and not taking advantage of others – both social emotional skills to cultivate.
Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.
How do you take care of yourself when you’re under the weather without letting your kids down? After another cup of herbal tea, I’ll be visiting all the links you leave as well as those over at Read.Explore.Learn.


4 comments:

LitLass January 21, 2011 at 7:05 AM  

I'll have to remember that book the next time we get sick. Thanks!

Ginny Marie January 21, 2011 at 7:07 PM  

I like to snuggle up under a blanket with my girls, and I make hot water with lemon and honey, especially when I have a sore throat. And of course, the best thing to do is read books! (Although I usually don't feel like reading that many books aloud when I'm sick.)

Farm Flu looks wonderful! I think I recognize one of my favorite illustrators, too. We like Bear Feels Sick, by the same author of Bear Snores On...I can't think of her name right now.

Feel better soon, Anne, and keep drinking that herbal tea!

Tracey M. January 22, 2011 at 2:31 PM  

What a great book! We had a nasty chest cough on a week we were on vacation watching my sister's house. We did do a lot more relaxing and watching some videos with the blankets on. I made sure to get to bed early and drink lots of fluids, oh and I can't forget my sister's father-in-law brought us over some Elderberry juice that he said the Germans swear by as cold medicine. We both liked it and I really think it helped!
Thanks again for hosting.

Natalie PlanetSmarty January 24, 2011 at 1:49 PM  

Fun book. I hope both you and B feel better soon. In our house adults nap dutifully every weekend while daughter is expected not to interrupt their nap. Slowly she is learning that rested parents are a lot more fun than grumpy tired parents.

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