So your children are complaining they are sick and don’t
want to go to school. Well … we know your children would never exaggerate their
symptoms just to stay home … but thanks to a recent article in WebMD and my own
experiences … I have a few tips to tell if your child is faking it.
The first step is to take their temperature. Every house
should have a good quality digital thermometer.
If you are using one of those ear thermometers … go buy
something else. For children … its perfectly acceptable to use a digital
thermometer under the arm or in the mouth … and many hospitals are now using
infrared thermometers which have been shown to be fast and accurate. Most of
know a normal temperature is about ninety 98.6 degrees … but you can have
normal temperatures up to 100.4 degrees. And don’t forget ... if you are using
Tylenol or ibuprofen … its possible to mask a fever … so you may yneed to
investigate further.
Next … be sure to look for some of the classic signs of
faking illness and knowing how you how your child behaves when truly ill is
very important.
If your teenager is coughing their head off and then talking
on the phone to their friends … be suspicious. Also … many kids will be very
tired when truly sick. So … if your child falls asleep while watching TV or
takes a nap when they usually don’t … its likely they are telling you the truth
about how they feel.
Next … if your child doesn’t want to go to school and it
seems to be habit … be sure there isn’t another issue they are not telling you
about.
Many kids who don’t want to go to school … have a specific
reason. Some may be getting bullied … other may have anxiety about taking
tests. These problems can have symptoms like abdominal pain and headaches and
it may be important to speak with their teachers to get to the bottom of the
problem.
And lastly … be sure you are not part of the problem.
All parents want their children to be successful … but
sometimes high expectations can translate to high anxiety levels for their kids.
As we see with adults … psychological stressors can cause physical symptoms and
sometimes we need to take a step back and decide if everyone’s priorities are
in order.
