Pastina, puke bowls and 'Jewish penicillin': Families share the traditions they turn to during illness

When Souleymane Ouedraogo and Morgan Triska were parenting their first child — now in middle school — they were at an impasse when their baby struggled with a bad cold. Ouedraogo wanted to boil eucalyptus leaves with some other plants to create a healing steam cloud for his son. Triska wanted to use Vicks VapoRub. Each parent’s instinct was to lean into healing remedies that worked during their own respective childhoods, in Burkina-Faso and Pennsylvania. The new parents quickly realized they were actually both seeking the same remedy: the soothing scent of eucalyptus and other botanicals found in nature. Ouedraogo says Triska was “opposed at first,” but when the couple realized their childhood remedies were somewhat similar, they were able to have a laugh. They’ve since incorporated sickness remedies and traditions from both of their childhoods into their household.

“With our kids, we blend the cultures," Ouedraogo says. "For example, even though the kids hate ginger, they take it. Two days after, they feel better. They do not like it but they know it works.”

Triska and Ouedraogo, like all people raising kids, are trying to figure this parenting thing out as they go — integrating traditions they grew up with alongside new information. This is particularly true when it comes to caring for a sick child. If your mother made a particular soup every time you had a cold, why not do the same for your own child? It turns out, most people do.

"When people are sick in Africa, we make light food," Ouedraogo says. "It can be broth, it can be fish soup, chicken soup or beef soup. They will boil but leave the bones to get the nutrients and they add spice. Ginger can go in too, depending on who is making it.”

Soup is clearly a timeworn comforting tradition across cultures. Bethany Kandel, in New York City, says that in her household it was matzo ball soup that did the trick. It still does. “Your kids are always your kids," she says. "When my grown son was sick not long ago, I made him a batch of ‘Jewish penicillin’ and took the subway an hour to his apartment in Brooklyn to deliver it.” In Connecticut, Jamie Kenney echoes a similar sentiment. “I always keep emergency pastina in the house in case someone gets sick. It’s Italian penicillin.” Lucy Benton’s mother also recently took a long journey to deliver soup for comfort. “I am British Nigerian and my mum traveled three hours to drop off some Nigerian pepper soup for me post-surgery on Sunday. We basically feed our kids to show love.”

Masha Rumer's childhood in the former Soviet Union combined both the steaming bucket method and the comfort food tradition. “A common remedy for colds used to be leaning over a pot of hot boiled potatoes, covering your head with a towel and inhaling the steam," Rumer shares. "It opens up the nasal passages, plus you get a meal out of the potatoes later — a win-win.” She says her family often relied on DIY methods since there was a shortage of most things in the USSR. Some she uses with her kids today, like the potato method. Others, like using mustard or hot-water-soaked strips of paper applied to the skin, she has chosen to keep as only a memory.

For many families, a specific puke receptacle is one of the comfort items woven into the fabric of family culture. The puke bowl topic has broken the internet a few times, but controversy aside, it turns out most households do have a designated vomit-catcher. Cristie Gabuzda says her four kids know it's serious when the bathroom wastebasket is placed near them.”That thing can't leave your side until you're free of vomit for 24 hours," she says. Other go-to sickness staples: "You'll definitely get some applesauce with activated charcoal stirred in when you're hungry. It's the only time I'm fine with toast crumbs everywhere, and you can get white grape juice whenever you want it.” Meanwhile, Nickie Kuhn’s family has a designated bowl with a long and storied past. “Our puke bowl goes back to the early '80s. Yellow Tupperware, baby!”

Other families have different comfort items that seem to possess healing powers. Olivia Burella Hinden says her son Owen needs a specific blanket when he’s under the weather. “We have ‘the sick blanket’ which is a lovely old quilt made with feed sack fabric. I picked it up to make it into something else since it was already pretty worn out. But somehow it was used once when Owen was sick and now he has to have it anytime he doesn’t feel well." she explains. While Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan’s family did not have a specific blanket, they always reached for one item when sick. “My parents gave me a bell to ring when I lost my voice," she shares. "Now we have a ‘sick bell.’” The bell now has a place of honor in her home for when her own kids aren’t feeling well.

What do medical experts think about these timeworn traditions? Hannah Kroll, a registered nurse and mom of two in New York City, says there is so much value to these family traditions, which she calls comfort care. “Some comfort care methods and remedies are backed up with scientific evidence, such as broth or chicken soup for colds, ginger for nausea, honey for coughs in children over a year old and even making sure you have your special blanket and stuffy," Kroll says. The last one, she says, is more of a placebo effect — but psychological comfort is crucial when kids are sick.

Of course, medical experts want to make sure parents know there is a point when comfort care and home remedies might not be enough, says Kroll. Most kids weather most infections at home without outside intervention, but it’s always best to keep an eye on the situation. If a child develops a sudden fever and sore throat, fever with stomach pain or a fever that is not responding to treatment for more than two days, check in with the nurse’s line. “You should call your pediatrician, but also take your child to the emergency room if they are not urinating at least twice in a 24-hour period, are unable to keep clear liquids down for 24 hours, have any trouble breathing or appear short of breath while at rest, or if your child is extremely lethargic or unresponsive," she advises.

Familiar routines help, she adds. “We do loads of extra cuddles and spend the day resting and watching TV in Mommy and Daddy’s bed," the nurse says. "We watch shows that are less educational and more fun, like Paw Patrol, Lion Guard and Disney movies. Basically, anything that will put a small smile on my sick child's face.”

This article was originally published on March 29, 2023 and has been republished.