What is Your Purpose? You May be Asking the Wrong Question.

Growing up, you hear all about a purpose. What is your purpose on this earth? What were you created for? What is your destiny? It's in the movies, family discussions, church lessons.

Why am I here? Why am I this person, placed in this family, in this time?

These are questions that I often pondered until I lived a truly mind boggling experience that shifted something within me. On that curious day, once I returned home feeling odd and confused, I began to wonder if we were asking the wrong questions. What if I'm not here for one single purpose? What if we're all here for everyone but ourselves? Am I placed on this earth, in this life, at this time to simply affect others? I believe that we all are.

I was driving home from work on a warm Sunday evening. I rarely worked Sundays, but each employee had to work at least one Sunday out of the month on an alternating schedule. I remember the sky perfectly, tinted with a grayish orange from the descending sun. I had rolled my windows down, shut off the radio, and was enjoying the drive.

13 Ways to Make Any Illness Easier For Your Child.

 

If you read my post about Febrile Seizures, you may remember my mentioning of my month of hell. March has been a whirlwind of unfortunate events for me and my daughter. During the first week of March, I dealt with agonizing ulcers in my eyes. The following Monday, when I was ready to get back to work, my daughter caught a cold. By the end of the week, the cold escalated into RSV. Sweet Baby Melody had a febrile seizure and was left miserable and traumatized. As we rolled into the third week of March, Melody had recovered from her illness and was back to her trouble-loving self for one day before she began showing signs of the stomach flu. For the next couple days she was vomiting all over my bedspread. Can you believe our luck?! I've come to the conclusion that the Irish hate us.

Despite this dreadful Irish “luck”, I learned so much about coping with a sick toddler and devised a few ways to make the experience easier for you and your little one!

Bank in a Binder!

{Budgeting, tracking, and saving with free printables}

 

I know there are dozens of online posts about how “fun” it is to save money, pay off debt, and participate in “no spend month”, but much like the claim, baked cauliflower tastes like chicken nuggets, these concepts are packed with lies that crush your hopes and dreams. They taste like chewy cardboard dipped in barbeque sauce and restraining yourself from that beautiful pair of black heels sucks.

Let's face it. Nobody likes to save money, but everyone likes to have money saved. I myself am a self-admitted Shopaholic. Impulse buys are my thing and budgeting or browsing for good discounts is just stifling my spending creativity.

Upon realizing that I spend way more than anyone should on fast food and that my frequent purchases of a few dollars weren't so harmless, I knew I needed to make a change. How does someone like me refrain from spending foolishly and form the habit of sticking to a budget?

Pretty binders and colorful budget sheets, of course!!!

I've recently developed the habit of banking within a binder and I've gotta say, this simple budgeting method is surprisingly effective! I've included PDF printables to help you put together your very own bank in a binder!

I've been seeing a lot of posts about the “Envelope System” lately. I'm sure you have too. It's a basic concept of constructing a strict budget, dividing cash into separate envelopes that are assigned to different spending categories, and basically eliminating the use of your cards. A common line I've seen in these posts goes a little something like this, “This is an exciting new plan because once the cash is gone, IT'S GONE!”

Quite profound, really. What on earth could be fun and exciting about having no more cash to spend? Sometimes I think these stay at home moms are getting a little crazy with all the crayon melting “art”, designing fancy printables, and baking cauliflower lies. Once it's gone, it's gone!!! 'Gigantic, twitchy eyed smile'

I tried this envelope system for a while, but it just didn't work for me. For one thing, there's the task of driving to the bank and waiting in line. UGH. For another totally valid reason (not excuse) asking to withdraw eight $20 bills, twelve $10 bills, fourteen $5 bills, and twenty dollars worth of $1 bills just isn't that appealing! Then there's the matter of remembering each different envelope for any time you have something to purchase. Not to mention the purse full of coins that I was carrying around for a month. The whole thing made budgeting seem more inconvenient and miserable than I was already expecting. Using cash was out! Despite the month of hell, I did learn some valuable lessons:

 

Do not underestimate the power of a dolled up budget binder!

And also,

Shame is a key factor in a successful budget. Embrace it.

(You can quote me on that)

The binder reminds me of my financial goals every day and the shame keeps me from stopping to buy another Big Mac or that office supplies that nobody really needs!

If the cash system works for you, great! You can implement your envelopes into this awesome bank in a binder!

The Binder: An Inside Look.

What makes a budget binder effective? Use what works for you! My binder includes my financial goals, sheets for each category of my budget that I use to track my spending, a bill calendar, envelopes for receipts, and a running total of what I've spent. With my mandatory bills aside, I divided my spending into five categories or “accounts” and assigned a budget to each.

• Childcare
• Food
• Entertainment
• Auto
• Personal

I also have two extra sheets with no assigned budget labeled,

• Unexpected
• Business Expenses

At the end of each day, I pull up my mobile banking app, jot down everything that I spent that day, and add it to my accumulating total of how much money I have left in each budget and how much I've spent overall. Writing down my purchases really puts things into perspective for me. The experience usually goes a little something like this,

“I'm so responsible, writing down my spending. Look at how cute these budget sheets are. I should make printables for a living. Wait. . . how did I spend $71.56 at Walmart yesterday?! That can't be right! I only bought diapers and soda! Oh, and an iced coffee drink, those fuzzy socks, another package of colored paper, some stickers, those pens, a candy bar, and that cute picture frame that was on sale.”

Enter, Shame.
 

The next time I ran to the store to grab some baby wipes, I was more cautious with my spending, ignoring that tantalizing clearance isle.

 

Treat Your Binder Like Your Bank!

Being new to this whole awful budget thing, I exceeded my “Personal” budget on the first day of the month. When I wrote my expenses down for the day and realized I was in the hole on that designated budget, I decided to “transfer” the negative amount from my entertainment account to bring my balance to $0.00. This brought my allotted allowance for fun activities down by $23.00, but at least I didn't exceed my overall budget. By making that transfer, I had easily corrected my misstep and was back on track to meet my financial goals!

If you make a mistake, you may feel the impulse to call it quits and try again next month. That was my first reaction. Treat your separate categories as accounts instead, and transfer money accordingly. As long as you're not exceeding your overall budget, you're doing swell!

 

Building Your Binder

To create your bank in a binder, you'll need the following items:

• A binder
• Monthly goal sheet
• Yearly goal sheet
• Tracking sheets
• A bill calendar
• Envelopes
• Sheet protectors

Download the whole bank in a binder in this link, or follow the 6 steps below to customize your binder to your liking!

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-tmEFDjScUDODFiaDVEbVAwQm8/view?usp=sharing

 

1. First, you've got to sit down and craft a budget. Be realistic, but keep improving! Divide your budget into categories and assign a specific amount to each one.
2. Next step is the appearance of the binder. It has to be adorable, of course. Customize your bank in a binder any way you'd like!

3. Set your financial goals and write them down. Place them at the front of your binder so you can see them often. You'll benefit from being frequently reminded of your long term goals and it'll give you some motivation when sticking to your budget. Whether your goals are to pay off debt or to save up for a new computer, you can write them in the slots provided in these printables.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-tmEFDjScUDUkZEdFBvdk9kanc/view?usp=sharing

4. Insert your tracking sheets. These are your most powerful tools and if you're anything like me, they will evoke that much needed shame. Print a tracking sheet for each category of your budget and monitor your spending by writing down each purchase you make at the end of the day. I've included two styles, each with a few specific categories and one that's entirely blank. The first is my personal favorite, designed in pink and gray. The other is black and white.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-tmEFDjScUDUFZzY01SaHNFems/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-tmEFDjScUDZkY2SnFwYTJCWHc/view?usp=sharing

5. Record your bills and the days they're due into this bill calendar. This way, you'll never forget a bill and you can keep those mandatory expenses in mind while tracking your spending.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-tmEFDjScUDNVoxRm05Qmd6aXc/view?usp=sharing

 

    6.  If you'd like, insert a few envelopes to store important receipts – or cash if you're into the whole awful cash thing.

After these six easy steps, your bank in a binder will be complete! It's that simple and remarkably effective! I hope this works for you!

Happy budgeting, everyone!

Before you go, let us all take a moment to ponder this odd photo I found while searching for visuals for this post. Let's play that game where you add your own caption, and the funniest wins!

“Honey, I've been thinking about what you said about opening that joint checking account.”

'Gasp!' “Are you finally ready to commit to me that way?”

“No. So I got us a piggy bank instead.”

“Awww, Baldy! We're so great together!”

10 Awesome Steps to Total Awesomeness!

I know that with the fluctuating trends in today's society, it can be hard to keep up with all the hot clothing, juicy celebrity gossip, and greatest new diet plans. The struggle almost isn't worth the bragging rights! Fear not, for I have conducted heavy research on the top 10 awesome ways to be awesome at all times. If you live by these golden rules, you'll never be out of the loop! Let's get started!

1. Damage Your Body!

First step to being totally hip is to damage your body in any way possible. The style of fair, flawless skin and natural beauty is OUT and harming your body is IN! You can achieve the ultimate trendy look by,

• Inking your skin! Forget the pain, the expense of hundreds of dollars, and the ever lasting permanence of tattoos; they look cool! People of all ages are getting tattoos for any reason these days, and it is awesome. From Chinese characters to the classic chest piece declaring “ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME”, tats can be a great way to express yourself or add sentimentality to your very own skin. Don't you hate when a loved one dies and you forget that they ever existed? Problem solved! If you really love your grandmother, Rose, but you're afraid you're going to forget her when she kicks the bucket, get a rose on your right butt cheek! You'll never forget that wonderful woman. Plus, I'll bet Rose will look down from her seat in heaven and be absolutely honored by your inky tribute.
• Fry your skin! Tanning beds, prolonged exposure to sunlight, there are so many easy ways to obliterate your skin! Tanning can cause skin cancer, but that's a small formality when you're the darkest of all your friends! If you're not into the natural tan, tanning cream will do! Just make sure you get the right color; shoot for Oompa Loompa Orange.
• If you're really awesome, you can let a surgeon cut you open and alter you're entire appearance! Bigger boobs, smaller nose, less fat, it's all incredible!
• If you'd rather start small, you can fry your hair with a damaging mix of chemicals! Dark or light, anything other than your natural color is awesome. You can also cake your face with makeup, makeup, and more makeup until you're utterly unrecognizable! Clogged pores and dry skin is a problem for the older you!

 

2. Denounce Religion!

Perhaps the second trendiest thing around is to denounce organized religion! Specific morals and standards? Who likes those? Not today's generation of hip hipsters! If you're actively involved in an organized religion with core values such as integrity, compassion, forgiveness, and service to others, then you're doing it all wrong! These days, it's all about the freedom of self-spirituality! Do what you want, when you want, and chose to ignore any ultimate consequences that may follow! As long as you're in tune with your spiritual self, we praise you.
In fact, if you'd like to go the extra mile, you can publicly ridicule a church of your choice and it's members! Don't let others find solace in their own beliefs; they're just being lame. Find those heart-warming religious posts on Facebook and assert yourself with an argument backed by “science”, astronomy, and if you're feeling really awesome, be sure to use unbelievably long, pretentious words while you're quoting your Wikipedia bible myth discoveries. It will definitely make you seem wise and it'll confuse your victim.

**Extra Tip: I've found that only the coolest people are criticizing the LDS church. Out of all the organized religions, that one is really fun and easy to nail. You can join the other awesome holy-bashers on their credible websites like, mormonsarehorriblepeople.com, wehatechristians.net, and thebibleisahoax.org. Good luck!

 

3. POOP!

You know what's awesome? POOP. Everyone who's anyone loves POOP. In case you're not hip enough to know this, POOP is a league of extraordinary awesomeness! It stands for, Politically Offending Other People. What's greater than political debates that nobody asked for? The hippest of the hip find their outlet in social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Dump your political views on anyone that will listen and be sure to slam the opposing party while you're at it. It doesn't matter if your arguments have yet to change the minds of others! Keep posting, keep spewing! It's up to The Extraordinary League of POOP to inform everyone else that they are wrong.
If you want to join POOP, but you don't know a thing about politics, don't sweat it! Very few members of the POOP society actually know what they're talking about! 'Thumbs up'

 

4. Live Like You're Rich!

From lavish mansions to Buckle jeans, the truly trendy have been living outside their means for decades. This golden rule is real simple to follow: if you can't afford it, BUY IT. Have you heard of credit cards? They're the best thing since tanning beds! Walk into a bank and leave with a little plastic card worth thousands of dollars! Boats, antique furniture, electronics, and absurdly priced clothing. Anything that you can get your hands on with that credit card is super cool.
What's that, you say? What about the debt? Ha ha ha! That's a problem for your children when you're dead. When it comes to money, awesome people really don't have to take responsibility for any of it!
 
 
 

 
5. Pimp Your Vehicle!
I really love this one. The first step is to purchase a vehicle that you can't really afford, of course. Once you've got your shiny new cruiser, pimp it out with glittering rims, offensive bumper stickers, and naked lady decals! If you really want to seem awesome, get a gigantic truck that barely fits in a lane, hang those metal testicles from the hitch, and slap a giant blue star on the back window! The best part about having a vehicle this awesome is that you're instantly king of the road! Don't worry about the other cars that surround you; that black stretch of asphalt is your kingdom and you're entitled to drive your tank with no regard for another living soul! King of the Asphalt! No . . . that's too long. King of the Ass! Ass king! Hm . . . .
Oh! How about this:

ASS!

It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

6. Defy Nature's Laws of Reproduction!

Now, I can't go into too much detail on this particular golden rule. There are too many extremely awesome people that will just get too excited!
It goes without saying that the homosexual republic are without a doubt, the trendiest people around. From middle school to protests at Chic-Fil-A, homosexuality is crushing the competing heterosexual traditions.
What's not awesome about this crowd? For one thing, they are the ever loved under dog of the century, they dress to kill, and those women never have to touch another “one eyed snake” again.
 
 

7. Worship The Gods.

And by Gods, I mean celebrities. We all know that celebrities are ultimately better than us in every way, shape, and form. If you disagree, just think of it this way: in the last three seasons of Friends, Jennifer Aniston made an estimated 1 million dollars PER EPISODE. Now think about the paychecks given to our soldiers, policemen, firemen, and teachers. Isn't that awesome?
If you take a look at the USA's Debt Clock, we are currently in the hole by a whopping $16,787,451,118,147! I don't even know how to say that big of a number! If this country is in that much debt, but we're paying actors half of that amount annually, then the only reasonable explanation is that they are Gods.
Convinced? Great. You can worship these incredible celebs by monitoring their every move through our many invaluable resources of magazines, websites, and newscasts. If you ever meet a celebrity in person, you can show them the proper tribute by screaming, crying, letting them autograph any part of your body, and proposing marriage. Don't even think about addressing them like real human beings, because they are definitely not.
Some great celebs to worship are Brad Pitt, Nikki Minaj, or Beyonce. Oh, wait. No. Not Beyonce. Remember when those photos were released? The photos that displayed her natural beauty and weren't photo-shopped or edited in any way? Yeah. She's dead to us now.

 
 

8. Unleash Your Beasts.

Do you remember how awesome it was when children were polite, respectful, and obeyed their parents? Me neither! If you want to be awesome, you are in no way allowed to discipline or control your offspring. If you're not awesome, that might be hard for you to grasp, so I'll list some examples for children 10 years and younger.

• Shouting, hitting, or swearing at their parents is beautifully hip behavior.
• The street is for playtime. If you're a real awesome parent, you won't teach your children to stay in the yard or ride their bikes on the sidewalk. They need to be playing in the street, regardless of the flow of traffic in your neighborhood. It will teach your neighbors to drive safely and they will thank you for every heart-stopping moment that they almost hit your kid.
• R-Rated films, profanity, and vulgar language should be a staple in your parenting tool box. You want to start that stuff young. 

 

 

9. Support The Underdog.

It doesn't matter who it is, what they stand for, or whether or not you agree with their beliefs. Support the underdog. If you find a controversy, celebrity, or presidential candidate to be disliked by the majority of the population, show your unyielding support to the fullest. This is a great golden rule, because you can utilize it's effect in two ways! If a vast portion of society thinks anything to be honorable, enjoyable, or worth fighting for, be sure to criticize it, spread conspiracy theories, and protest against it. It's just the hippest thing to do these days!
You can start by showing your support by worshipping a few popular “underdog” celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Micheal Vick, and Obama! Your diversity will surely earn you the reputation of being hip and unique!

10. Your Hobby is Actually a Career!
One of the best things about being awesome is refusing to take up a traditional career! You can turn any hobby into a money making opportunity to avoid the daunting task of finding and establishing a real job! Making your own soaps and oils, fashioning beautiful jewelry, or simply selling makeup. The list of opportunities goes on and on! Do you like taking pictures? Get yourself a fancy camera and click! You're a professional photographer that specializes in train tracks and brides in the woods! Are you good at baking? Then you're probably the best at baking! Sell those decadent pastries for outlandish prices, and you've got yourself a business! Do you like to write? That's the easiest one! Quit your lame day job, start a blog, and you'll be making millions in no time because you're just so darn brilliant!
Whatever you do, be sure to plaster your excellence on social media so none of your friends miss out on your remarkable talent!

So there you have it! Follow these 10 golden rules and you're destined for awesomeness in an ever-changing society. If you're already living by most of these examples, then your hip pride may cause you to feel offended by this post. Don't be! It just means that you're totally awesome! Besides, I don't know a single person that isn't living by at least one of these awesome rules to awesomeness! How awesome are you? On a scale of 1-10 of the golden rules, I rank at a mere 4. I know what you're thinking: she's not very awesome. But I totally am! Don't you see? My million-dollar writing brilliance makes up for what I lack! :D

Your Child Has a 1 in 25 Chance of Having a Febrile Seizure. Prepare Yourself BEFORE it Happens.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for my delayed posting time. These past two weeks have been hell for me. First, I slept in my contacts for the first time in years because I was out of solution, which resulted in agonizing ulcers in my eyes for at least a week. Second, my daughter caught the worst cold she's ever had, and we experienced the traumatic event of a Febrile Seizure. You can read my experience below, or you can scroll further down to read up on the facts of Febrile Seizures and educate yourself on how to prevent and treat them.

For parents with children of any age, watching our little angels suffer the symptoms of any sickness is terrible to endure. My daughter, Melody, is nearly two years old. She had caught a cold and for nearly an entire week, she was a miserable blob of mucous and fever with a throat ripping cough that wore her to exhaustion. I had considered taking her to the doctor, as this was her worst cold yet, but my online research informed me that there was really nothing to be done for a common cold aside from vapor rub and steam.

The night of the incident, my daughter had taken a late nap and when she woke with a high fever, I gave her some children's Advil and sat her beside me to watch some cartoons.

I had just started a new movie on Netflix when I looked to her and realized that she was not watching the television, but rather staring at nothing with half-lidded eyes. My heart broke for my weary, little baby. I patted her knee and spoke to her, but she did not respond. I said her name and gave her leg a small shake, but to my heart-dropping horror, her head drooped to the side and her eyes glazed over.

I remember this moment with more clarity than with what followed. I called out her name louder, lifting her head and forcing her to look at me with her unfocused eyes. When it became unmistakably clear that my little girl was completely unresponsive, I shouted for my mother. The sound was loud enough to catch Melody's attention; she snapped out of her trance and her wide blue eyes focused on me. As I watched helplessly, my daughter's face twisted with pain and she gave one, raspy scream before she went limp and her head fell forward. It was truly something out of a horror movie.

I was gathering my limp child in my arms, careful to support her heavy head, when my mother rushed in, took one look, and ran away shouting my father's name. I stood with my baby, shouting her name as I fought to keep her head up and saw that her eyes had rolled back into her head and her mouth hung open. I began to tremble, the edges of my vision going black and fuzzy.

I'm going to lose my daughter.

My dad barged into the room when I was holding my finger beneath her nose, checking for breath. He took her from me and laid her gently on the floor, carefully adjusting her head. He pressed his ear to her heart and his finger beneath her nose as Melody began to turn a sickening blue.

My mother stood in the hallway shouting frantically at the emergency operator on the phone, stressing the danger between each answer to the operator's stream of insignificant questions about our basic demographic information. My sister was crouched down to my dad's level over Melody's head, repeating the instructions for performing CPR on an infant over the loud desperation of my mother's panic.

All the while I stood uselessly by, staring at my tiny angel on the floor and repeating the same words over and over again under my breath.

“Dear Lord, please save my baby. Please save my baby. Oh, God, please keep my child alive.”

 

Melody's eyes had rolled back into her head completely, she wasn't moving, and the skin of her round face was growing bluer by the second. I fell to the floor beside her, typing the situation into the Google search on my iPhone, searching for instructions to save my daughter. I recall my clumsy fingers gliding across my screen until I found an article that I couldn't even read due to my trembling hands and blackening, blurry vision. The paramedics were on their way, but I knew they would not arrive in time.

Melody's body began to stiffen, every flinching muscle going rigid. My father was pumping his fingers below her sternum and when he bent his head to blow a small puff of air in her mouth, a soft wheeze emanated from her lips. Her blue eyes focused once again. My dad made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a victorious shout as he lifted Melody off of the floor and held her in his lap. She faced me as he lightly pounded on her little back and I felt myself breath for the first time as she struggled to focus on me as she cried.

The rest of the night drawled on with at least eight paramedics in my living room, surrounding Melody and I in a jumbled mass of navy blue and steel briefcases filled with instruments to check her vitals. They left a very cranky Melody with a shiny gold sticker that resembled a badge and we took a trip to the ER, where the doctors and nurses performed multiple tests. The hospital staff checked her vitals again, drew blood, and worst of all, took a urine sample through the use of a catheter.

After the tests were completed and I had more than my share of holding down my screaming baby while she was pricked and prodded, we were informed that Melody had a Febrile Seizure due to a spike in her fever. Her body temperature had rose to quickly for a toddler to handle.

The next few nights were marred with fear and frequent temperature checks. Melody's room was littered with empty medicine boxes, sticky syringes, and jars of vapor rub. She recovered quickly after a long night of uninterrupted rest, and was back to her sassy little self a few days later. Though the event has passed, the trauma continues to haunt me as I remember my precious angel sitting beside me, limp and unresponsive, staring at nothing. The look of agony that crossed her face before losing consciousness.

I regret my sheer helplessness that night. I was entirely unprepared and uneducated and as I took to the web for research the next day, I felt that every parent could benefit from a little preemptive planning.

What is a Febrile Seizure?

Febrile Seizures are convulsions brought on by a high fever in infants and children. During the seizure, a child will lose consciousness, their muscles will tighten and shake, or they'll experience small tremors in selective parts of their rigid body. Most seizures last only a minute or two (though it feels like a lifetime) but some can last up to fifteen minutes. If you're child is experiencing a seizure that lasts more than a few minutes, take them to the hospital immediately.

In the event of a Febrile Seizure, what can you do?

Amidst the horror and panic, my family and I didn't know what to do. We scrambled about, called 911, and even performed light CPR. When you're child is having a seizure, none of the above is necessary. The seizure will pass, but there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.

• When it begins, be absolutely sure to check the time to monitor the length of the seizure. This is crucial. When you're thrown into a traumatic situation like this, minutes may feel like hours.
• Lay the child down in a safe environment where they can't hurt themselves, make sure nothing is in their mouth, and lay them on their stomach or side so they do not choke on their saliva.
• If the seizure persists for longer than five minutes, call the paramedics or take your child to the hospital right away.

That's it. You will feel horrifyingly helpless, but it will pass. As an added precaution, you can call the paramedics immediately so they can check your child's vital signs and give you further instruction at no cost to you, regardless of your insurance.

How can a Febrile Seizure be prevented?

It's hard to say whether or not these tactics will prove 100% effective in preventing a seizure, but we must do what we can. Febrile Seizures are the result of high fevers, so anything you can do to keep your child's body temperature at a safe rate will help. These are a few tactics I learned from the paramedics and hospital staff.

1. Monitor the child's temperature regularly with a thermometer so you can prepare for the worst and help bring the fever down.
2. There are several brands of medicine for subduing a fever in children. I prefer Children's Advil and Tylenol. If your little angel is younger than two years old, they make medicine for infants specifically, so be sure to get the box that is age appropriate. With Advil and Tylenol, you can alternate between the two to make sure that dreaded fever never has the opportunity to spike. My doctor instructed me to administer one dosage of Advil every 4-6 hours. If the fever persists within that time frame, I was to give one dosage of Tylenol every two hours in between. Apparently this is a commonly known method, but I was worried about injecting that much medicine into my baby. Rest assured, it's completely safe as long as you're using the correct dosage for the correct age and weight. As an added bonus, the medicine seemed to make my daughter lethargic and drowsy, which resulted in more uninterrupted rest for her.
3. If your child still suffers from a high fever even with the medicine, keep them cool. You can pat them down with a cold wet cloth, wrap them in a blanket and stand outside on a cool day, or run their wrists under cold water. Resist the urge to bundle them up in mountains of cozy blankets and be sure to dress them in light clothing that breathes.

Are Febrile Seizures Dangerous?

If the above methods fail, take some comfort in the fact that brief Febrile Seizures are quite common and ultimately harmless. 1 in 25 children will have a Febrile Seizure before the age of 5. These seizures have no common relation to Epilepsy (seizures without cause) or long-term brain damage. Research shows that even children who endure long Febrile Seizures (lasting up to an hour) rarely suffer from permanent side effects.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke say, “Even when seizures are very long (more than 1 hour), most children recover completely, but a few might be at risk of subsequent seizures without fever (epilepsy). In other words, between 95 and 98 percent of children who experience febrile seizures do not go on to develop epilepsy. However, although the absolute risk remains small, some groups of children--including those with cerebral palsy, delayed development, or other neurological abnormalities--have an increased risk of developing epilepsy. The type of febrile seizure also matters; children who have prolonged febrile seizures (particularly lasting more than an hour) or seizures that affect only part of the body, or that recur within 24 hours, are at a somewhat higher risk. Among children who don't have any of these risk factors, only one in 100 develops epilepsy after a febrile seizure.”

I trust this post was helpful to you and I hope that you will not experience the terrifying trauma of a Febrile Seizure in your little ones. If you do, at the very least you will be prepared and probably a lot less panic-stricken than me and my family were! Have you dealt with a Febrile Seizure in the past? Did you know what it was when it was happening? How did you handle it?

As always, I look forward to hearing from my readers. Happy parenting!

To read more on Febrile Seizures, you can check out the NIH fact sheet by clicking here.