Having your children come down with a cold or flu may be a real problem for parents, especially if they both work and have more than one sick child at a time.

Bugs can spread very quickly at school and the common cold virus is so easily transmitted that children may spend most of the time between now and spring passing colds around.

While adults may get by with big boxes of tissues and pills, some unwell children can act like their world has collapsed.

A recent British poll revealed that parents in Yorkshire were losing 2.3 hours of sleep a night for three nights running on average when their children had a sniffle.

Sharon Pulis knows all too well what tending to sick children and sleep deprivation mean. She has two boys, Ian, aged nine, and five-year-old Julian, as well as a daughter, Ally, who is only four months old.

“I’ve had quite a number of sleepless nights. Often, drops for a blocked nose and vapour rubs are enough to help them and (us) sleep peacefully. But sometimes it seems that no matter what I give them, the coughing does not get any better. And that would be a very long night!,” Ms Pulis says.

She is not keen on giving her children,especially little Ally, medication and claims that if they have just a runny nose, sore throat or fatigue, the symptoms will generally go away on their own after a few days. However, if they run a fever for more than two days, she takes them to a doctor. This ‘waiting time’ is normal practice in Switzerland, where Ms Pulis and her husband moved a few years ago.

“When you call the doctor for an appointment, they ask you to wait two days. If your children still run a fever after that, then the doctor will visit them,” she says.

I’ve never tried my mother’s water and vinegar remedy – maybe when I run out of paracetamol!

Her worst fear is that a common cold may lead to a more serious infection, such as bronchitis or ear infection, and that her children would thus require antibiotics or other medications.

Antibiotics are not popular in Switzerland, according to Ms Pulis, and if it is possible to recover without taking any medicine, then “one only has to wait patiently until the flu symptoms disappear”.

In this case, “they stay at home to avoid spreading their cold, they take it easy and rest as much as possible. I keep them warm and hydrated, and sometimes give them paracetamol if they run a temperature.”

Her mother always suggested a home remedy to lower temperatures: a drink made of equal parts of vinegar and water.

“However, I’ve never tried it – maybe when I run out of paracetamol!” she quips.

Like any mother, Ms Pulis does her best to protect her children from getting sick.

She believes warm and waterproof clothing can prevent them getting cold and wet when they are playing outside.

“Children play outside in any weather, especially when it’s snowing here.”

She says she cannot do much when they are at school with other children but tells them to wash their hands frequently, or at least before eating.

Jennifer Attard also has two young kids, Lisa, aged eight, and Matthew, five.

Like Ms Pulis, she worries that a cold could develop into “something worse” so she immediately takes them to the doctor if her kids develop “a bad cold”.

She does not use traditional cures and follows doctors’ advice on medication. Matthew gives her some trouble when it comes to taking medicine, so she has to resort to suppositories.

As prevention, Ms Attard encourages her children to wash their hands often, especially before eating, and to eat oranges for vitamin C – a widely accepted aid against colds ­– even though her son dislikes them.

Give them plenty of rest

You may choose to keep your child off school until they are better, to speed up their recovery and prevent them from passing the virus to the rest of the class. In that case, let them sleep or take it easy – if they feel well enough to run around, they are probably exaggerating their illness!

Distract them

Feeling miserable will only make your child irritable and needy, so entertaining them with a favourite toy, game or TV show may take their minds off how poorly they are. This may have the added benefit of tiring them out, giving their body time to rest.

Avoid spreading infection

Encourage your child to cough and sneeze into a tissue and then throw it into the bin at once. As your instinct will be to cuddle them, you will probably end up with the cold yourself, so use alcohol gel or wash your hands regularly with soap to avoid getting the whole family infected.

Tried and tested parent techniques against the common cold

Keep them warm

While it is a myth that going outside without a coat or with wet hair will give you a cold, once your children have caught one, try to keep them at a comfortable temperature. Think hot water bottles, pyjamas, and if they need to go out, hats, gloves and scarves. If the child complains of feeling too hot due to fever, let them strip down to their underwear and just keep a sheet on top of them.

Make sure they are well hydrated

Getting plenty to drink will help the body fight off the cold on its own. If your child has a sore throat, hot water with honey, lemon and ginger will soothe the pain and make sure they are getting extra fluid. If they do not like the taste, get them to drink plain water.

Give medicine – but be careful

Antibiotics do nothing to help the common cold, but small doses of liquid paracetamol or liquid ibuprofen, formulated for children, may help. Such medications are very mild but often help in that by taking some, the sick child expects to feel better anyway. Be sure to read the dosage instructions first and if in doubt, consult a doctor. Do not give aspirin to children under 16.

Applying vapour rubs to the chest and neck of a baby or young child can help soothe symptoms.