Ultimate Guide to Kid Vomit: Causes and Treatment

Cleaning up kid vomit is among the most awful parenting jobs out there. Here are a few tips to make it just the tiniest bit better.

• Towels are your friend. Keep some around at all times when your kid is sick. It’s much easier to throw a towel in the washing machine (dumping the chunks into the toilet first—sorry!) than it is to scoop and wipe vomit off the floor, or worse, the carpet (ugh! THE WORST).
• Keep spare sheets and a blanket in each child’s room—perhaps in the top drawer of his dresser, or stashed away in his closet. This prevents hunting through the linen closet in the dark trying to find a sheet that fits. Or, double up on bedsheets so in the middle of the night, you can just strip a layer off. (Place a waterproof sheet or mattress cover in between the sheets.)
• Keep a waterproof mattress cover on your kid’s bed at all times to avoid the puke stinking up and staining the mattress.
• In the middle of the night, gather up the mattress cover, sheets and blankets, and put them somewhere where the smell won’t bother anyone until the next day. (Outside or in a basement bathroom could be options.) Deal with it in the morning.
• If you have a partner, one of you should take care of your kid (wiping him down or giving him a quick shower) while the other one deals with the mess. Divide and conquer!
• The toilet can seem really far away to a little kid who needs to throw up. Keep a bucket or garbage bin close to the bed and explain what it’s for. Put glow sticks under the plastic bag to help kids see where to aim.