When I was growing up, my mother had a small book on how to care for your child’s health. It was printed before the late 50’s or early 60’s, because it was there by the time I was eight and reading everything I could get my hands on. I would sit for a long time studying the pictures and reading what they said about each disease. By the time I became a mother, I could not find my mother’s book nor could I find one on the market. To me, this information is an important part of mothering and doctoring my family. If I am familiar with the rashes, where they start and when they are contagious, etc, I am not nearly as likely to run off to the doctor. If I also know what to expect for the course of the disease and realize that there are things that I can do to make my child more comfortable, I become more confident. Read the information and study the pictures and be prepared to deal with diseases as they come.