Cold Comfort
Tips for helping your child deal with the sniffles,
a cough and a fever:
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
round this time of the
year, newspapers and
magazines start print-
ing their versions of "How To
Prevent The Flu From Attack-
ing Your Child."
Every time, the advice is the
same. Stay away from germy
public telephones and door
knobs. Wash your hands often.
Get enough rest and vitamin C.
And, for heaven's sake, steer
clear of crowds.
Short of keeping your child
under lock and key, it is impossi-
ble at times to prevent a com-
municable illness like the flu or
strep
Chicken Soup
As A Timeless Cure
When I was little, having the
flu was not an uncommon oc-
currence. Being the sixth of
seven children, I frequently
caught whatever traipsed in
the door with my older broth
ers and sisters.
Whenever it happened, my
mother would make a bed for
me on the family room couch.
Watching reruns of Abbott
and Costello movies, I would
fall asleep on my favorite pil-
low, under the comfort of a
soft blanket, and nap the sick
ness away.
While all of that made me
feel somewhat better, it wasn't
until the evening meal that
things would change dramati-
cally. By then, my mom's
chicken soup would be ready.
After devouring a bowl or two
and some crackers, I felt as
good as new
One of the tricks of this
recipe, especially for children
having trouble keeping solids
down or who won't eat cer-
tain veggies, is to puree the
vegetables. My brother, who
at age 32 still will not take
carrots in any form, will eat
this soup, in part because my
mom hasn't told him yet
what is in it.
T H E A P P L E T R E E
Jill's Mom's Chicken Soup
22
Ingredients:
3 I /2 to 4-pound chicken,
cleaned
2 whole, clean carrots
3 celery stalks
2 or 3 medium onions,
quartered
bouillon
salt
pepper
noodles
water
Instructions:
Place chicken in a stock pot and cover with water. Also place in car-
rots, celery, onions. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to sim-
mer the concoction for an hour to an hour-and-a-half or until the
chicken is done. Take out vegetables and set aside. Remove the chicken
and refrigerate after it cools. Put the broth into the refrigerator for sever-
al hours until the fat separates and rises to the surface. Skim fat from the
broth. Remove about 1 1 /2 cups of broth and place in a blender with
the vegetables. Puree the vegetables and broth and return to the stock
pot Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the broth.
Prepare noodles in a separate pot and add to the soup when done. Re-
heat the soup and season with bouillon, salt and pepper to taste.
throat The question then be-
comes, what can you do to
make children more comfort-
able when they do get sick?
We asked moms, and pedia-
tricians who are moms, for their
best tips on comforting a sick
child (keeping in mind that
medicine-taking often
proves fertile battle-
ground between par-
ent and child).
Sharon Borstein of
Buffalo Groove, Ill., ac-
knowledged that get-
ting liquids into her
5-year-old son Sammy can be, at
best, trying.
But she has solved the prob-
lem. No, she doesn't force-feed
him. Instead, she sticks a flexi-
ble straw into chicken broth
and lets him slurp away. Better
yet, if he has a temperature, she
puts him into a gradually cooler
bathtub with a popsicle.
"Combining the cool bath
with the popsicle is novel and
fun for the kid and saves clean-
ing up the mess for the parent,"
she said.
Many children develop diar-
rhea when they are taking an-
tibiotics, which can cause the
loss of extra fluids. Rebecca
Wasvary, a pediatrician with
Beverly Hills Pediatrics and
mother of 8-month-old Maggie
Rose, suggests giving children
yogurt with active cultures, pro-
viding they can tolerate dairy ,
products. The yogurt supplies
natural elements in the diges-
tive tract that antibiotics can
wipe out.
Occupying a sick child's time
can be difficult. Cranky and
tired, most want to be held all
day.
Janet Snider, the mother of
three and a pediatrician with
Medical Center Pediatrics in
Bingham Farms, West Bloom-
field and Detroit, offered the tip
of a Sick Box.
Sort of a treat for a rainy day,
the box is filled with small
games, toys, coloring books, art
supplies, videos, comics and
other activities. It can be hauled
out to entertain a restless child
when everyday toys and games
fail to do the trick.
"It keeps them busy and you
can get things done, too," she
said.
Most children require rest for
a speedy recovery. Try telling
that to a 3-year-old who thinks
getting up at the crack of dawn
and cackling like a rooster is a
riot
Ms. Borstein suggests setting
up a small tent, or making one
out of a sturdy card table with a
blanket draped over for sides.
Fill it with quiet activities, as
well as blankets and pillows.
Within a few minutes, even her
ever-active child was fast asleep
in the privacy of his own tepee.
Ilene Hochbaum, a South-
field mother of three nearly
grown children, said changing
the bed linen and scenting the
sheets with a soothing fragrance
comforted her girls when they
were sick.
"It is something about the
feel of cool, crisp sheets that
makes you feel a little better,"
she said.
And while television is not