I believe I’m a pretty good parent.
I like to do things from an evidence basis, and most of the evidence I have supports that idea. My daughter is a good student, reasonably polite and respectful, thinks for herself, and is reasonably well-behaved.
But there’s one area where I lack confidence in my parenting – when my child is sick. Not sick like “obviously needs a doctor” sick. That stuff is a cakewalk. It’s when faced with the “Is she sick enough for the doc?” question that I fall on my face. There are a few factors that don’t help that.
My time with Annie always starts on Thursday afternoon. An evening isn’t long enough to truly evaluate her condition, unless it’s really dramatic. So then we get to Friday. If I determine Friday that she’s sick enough for the doc, I either need to cancel all my meetings and try to get a nearly-impossibly same-day appointment, or it’s Monday, when I’m supposed to bring her back to school and Mom. If I keep her out of school Monday, then I’ve got to make sure the doc’s appointment works with her mother’s schedule. So basically, a sick kid is a nightmare around here.
The other thing is guilt. I work from home, so I’m in here working away, and I have a sick kid either in her bedroom or on the sofa. Because I’m actually working, I can’t check on her more than every hour or two. I don’t want to add boredom to illness, but I also can’t be the entertainment, either. This is one of the few times I wish we had television.
So, gap analysis – I suck at having a sick kid.