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[Pembo]

.

 

[monkeyboy]

Its a tough call

My parents rule growing up:

To be really sick and sent home the janitor had to come to the class with sawdust (if ya know what I mean)

 

[CRB#33]

See how well he eats his lunch

When I sub, I usually have several children complaining of stomach aches when they're that age. I ususally check their forehead for heat and look at their color. If they seem fine, I ask them to wait until lunch.

That does the trick many times. I've never had a child get sick or go home when I've done that.

A child that is queezy will usually be clamy and pale also. I send them to the nurse with a trash can in hand.

 

[Pembo]

*******

 

[Dan Murphy]

I recall that not so nice feeling at times in school, though generally only when I wanted to be out playing, or at least, just not at school. I bet his day goes well.

 

[Scratch42]

So is there a Math Test?

If she says yes, then it's fake!LOL

We don't have nurses at our schools anymore so it's more difficult to tell but usually I gauge how she was the night before and the morning of!

It's a hard call especially when there is noone there that can really tell you!

Scratch

 

[Maleficent13]

I have a couple employees out with a "stomach-ache" today too.

It's sunny with a high of about 82.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Off topic but I have to ask, why does everyone assume that to be sick you will have a fever? My mother can tell you that I was a very sickly child and more times than not I didn't have a fever.

 

[Disney Doll]

I think you have to know your kid. Is it a new school? Is there a teacher he doesn't like or that he's scared of? Is there a kid in a certain class at a certain part of the day that's bullying him?

Sounds to me like it's more "schoolitis" than a real illness, but I'd probably try and find out the reason behind it.

I remember when I changed schools in 5th grade (went from public o parochial), I often had a stomachache the first few eeks, more due to anxiety than real illness.

 

[Beth76]

Originally posted by Scratch42
I gauge how she was the night before and the morning of!

When I faked being sick, I would start the night before. It's more believable.

Seriously, stomach aches are tough because there are usually no other symptoms. You just have to go on the word of the child. It could be nerves even. I would think that if his stomach has been "hurting" for awhile and he hasn't thrown up or needed to use the bathroom (for whatever reason) by now, that he might be faking it. And I agree with Pooh67-68, you can be sick and not have a fever.

 

[damo]

My advice is to watch the situation carefully. Through experience, we have found that these events can compound themselves into panic attacks and serious stomach problems with all of the exit paths included!

My son went through a school problem that had nothing to do with the other kids but with a teacher and he ended up not wanting to go to school in the mornings and this eventually led to him not wanting to go to bed at night, etc. etc. This was in sixth grade so we're not talking about a little kid.

Kids can feel very helpless when the situation involves a teacher. So if your kid doesn't usually have problems at school with friends or tests, then I suggest that you don't just glace over what is going on, but keep an eye on it and intervene earlier rather than later. It can takes months to resolve if it is allowed to go on too long.

 

[MerryPoppins]

It may be real, but anxiety related like Disney Doll suggested. When I was in second grade, I went through a spell where I was afraid to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Don't assume that he is trying to get out of school. It may be happening because he's worried about something.

It was early in the school year and one day we went to lunch. After I got my tray and sat down, I realized that I didn't feel well and couldn't eat. An older teacher was on duty and insisted that I wasn't leaving the cafeteria unless I ate. So I forced a few bites down and . . . you can use your imagination. I seem to remember it being something like a scene from The Exorcist. Maybe that teacher though twice about forcing a kid to eat after that.

So I went home and recovered from the flu. When I went back and my teacher asked who was eating in the cafeteria, my tummy started to churn. Just the thought of going in there and the smell of the cleaning products that they used made me so anxious and upset. Soon I was getting ill in the morning just thinking about going to school, because I knew they would expect me to go in there. I think I was also afraid of dealing with that teacher again.

You know what finally worked? Mom explained the situation to my doctor. He gave me some "medicine" that was a placebo. He said I'd need to take it twice a day for a week and then once a day for another week. At the end of that, I would NOT have tummy aches anymore. The medicine would fix it. He sounded so sure that I believed him. At the same time, my parents assured me that I could walk home for lunch every day. I would never have to eat in the cafeteria again if I didn't want to. I was so relieved and never had another problem with my morning sickness.

Kids have a way of blowing things out of proportion. Does he like his new teacher? Are his friends in his class? Is he having any problems? Any bullies or anything like that? Is any subject hard this year? Are they asking him to do something that he's afraid will make him look foolish? (I ask that one because I once had a teacher that wanted each of us recite the multiplication tables in front of the class and I didn't know mine. I was terrified that my friends would think I was dumb!)

I'd have a heart to heart about how school is going. Don't ask him outright if anything is making him "sick". He probably couldn't tell you if that's the case. I didn't understand what was going on with me at the time. Just try to find out if anything is bothering him and if he likes school this year. It might give you some insight.

 

[janette]

It is hard to tell, the worst experience I had was one time my youngest DD had a playdate planned after school with a friend in Kindergarten. The school called and said that she said had a tummy ache, she wasn't running a temp and they said she seemed okay they just wanted to let me know. I okayed her to go with her friend and no sooner did they get to the house than she threw up. By the time I got there not even an hour after the school called she was running a temp and feeling really bad. I felt awful

It's one of those things you almost have to wait and see and hope the results aren't too bad.

My oldest DD often has stomach aches due to anxiety so we've also done that. Usually I just try to get her to do what she needs to do and it works out.

 

[laurie31]

Children process anxiety differently than adults. We get tension headaches. They get stomach aches. The pain is real, but it doesn't mean they are "sick." If you ask him where it hurts and he points to the area around his belly button, there is a 99% chance it's anxiety.

As others have said, try talking to him and finding out if there's anything upsetting going on. What's upsetting to a child can seem very minor to an adult. My dd gets upset if their class routine is changed in any way. (ie - a sub takes them to recess at a different time, etc.) There may not be anything going on you would consider "serious" but it may be serious in his eyes. (or as others have mentioned, there may be a problem with a teacher or a bully that you would certainly want to know about and handle!).

Good luck!

Laurie

 

[caitycaity]

when i was in 3rd grade i had horrible stomach aches in the morning due to a very stressful situation at school. i didn't even know they were from stress until my mom took me to the doctor and he suggested it.

 

[Disney Ella]

Just the change in routine in going back to school after having the summer off could do it too. One of my DDs is very anxious and gets stomach aches if she's worried about anything. Unfortunately, if she's getting sick, it also starts with her stomach. I've sent her to school before and felt terrible when the nurse called me a few hours later. It's hard to tell sometimes if it's the kind of stomachache that will go away once they get in their classroom and get caught up in the routine or if it really is something more. I would definitely ask him if something is worrying him, although that never works with my DD. She always claims everything's fine and then I have to be sneaky to try to find out what the problem is.

 

[Pembo]

*****