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The morning begins, and you slowly pull yourself out of bed, getting ready for a day at the office, when you hear the familiar refrain, "Mommy, Daddy, I don't feel good."
And soon, you will have to evaluate, how sick is she? Is he really sick, or just trying to get out of school? And why don't schools teach them that the proper grammar is to say that they don't "feel well" anymore?
Oh gnoes, kids pulling sickies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 111!1!
Man they should have interviewed me because I was an absolute pro at pulling sickies. But it stopped pretty quick when I had to stay in bed and do homework at the end of the day. Mothers generally know when youre faking (mine did). When I was really sick I stayed in bed and didnt have to do homework but when I tried to pull a fast one I usually ended up doing book work by the end of the night :S
After three boys all pulling the same tricks, I came up with this formula:
1. No fever (by anal thermometer if nessesary) - go to school
2. Tossing cookies (barfing) - stay home
3. Rash - stay home and go to the doc
4. Sniffles - load them up with medicine - go to school
5. Drooling nose, coughing, red tonsils (need flashlight to confirm) - stay home and go to doc
If temperature is taken orally, keenly observe child. They learn from The Simpsons cartoons to hold thermometer to a lightbulb to increase the temp. Barfing must be verified. Rash must be tested to confirm it is not mommie's make-up.
If they have no fever or are tossing cookies, then I send my kids to school with a little side note of "if you start to feel worse at school you can go see the nurse." I haven't yet had to go get my kids from school on those days. They know that the school nurse would know if they are really sick or if they are faking.
If they have a fever or are tossing cookies, then of course I keep them home. I can usually tell right off if they have a fever or not without having to actually check. It's all in their eyes.
Having raised seven kids yrs a go have been thru the routines.
Stomach ache...Pepto Bismo.(don't need a throwing up or "accident" happening at school.
Medical thermometer for a temp reading.
Maybe some crisis in school (test etc) or other student problem.
Bad head cold...cup of HOT tea with some brandy/whiskey in it...wear two or three t-shirts and sweat it out in bed...worked for us every time.
These were just a few of the problems we faced.
Good luck.
After three boys all pulling the same tricks, I came up with this formula:
1. No fever (by anal thermometer if nessesary) - go to school
2. Tossing cookies (barfing) - stay home
3. Rash - stay home and go to the doc
4. Sniffles - load them up with medicine - go to school
5. Drooling nose, coughing, red tonsils (need flashlight to confirm) - stay home and go to doc
If temperature is taken orally, keenly observe child. They learn from The Simpsons cartoons to hold thermometer to a lightbulb to increase the temp. Barfing must be verified. Rash must be tested to confirm it is not mommie's make-up.
I have only two boys - but use the same system. We have an ear thermometer. Can't fake with those.
Bad head cold...cup of HOT tea with some brandy/whiskey in it...wear two or three t-shirts and sweat it out in bed...worked for us every time.
I'd never heard of this until I met my husband. He said his dad always did this for him when he was sick as a kid. I tried it and it really works well! For my husband and I we do hot tea, brandy, lemon, and honey. For the kids we leave out the brandy. It's soothing and we're well again in no time. We usually use a Traditional Medicinal's brand of tea - either the Throat Coat variety, the peppermint, or the Chamomile.
I've also use garlic - freshly cut - wrapped in a warm cloth around the bottoms of my boys feet - to bring a fever down. The cut parts of the garlic need to be against the bottoms of the feet. I know - it's the strangest thing you've ever heard, it was for me when I was told about it - but it brought a high fever right down, and within a few hours they had sweated it all out, the fever broke, and the next morning they were fine. Kinda stinky if you don't like garlic, but it worked so well that I plan to do this again if the situation ever arises. Normally I would have done children's tylenol but we were out that night, all we had was the adult strength, and I was in a tight spot. I couldn't leave the kids to go to the store and my husband couldn't leave work and I didn't have anyone else to call. My midwife told me to try this. She couldn't leave her birthing center to bring me children's tylenol because she was with a woman in the early stages of her labor. I was so thankful that the garlic trick worked. And I'm never out of children's tylenol anymore! It's experiences like that which stay with you... I have a hard time not buying it when I pass by it at the store. lol
My oldest son was the BEST at playing to my sympathy and claiming sick. He was very sickly as a toddler, and when he started school, I watched very closely as his allergie symptoms would turm into tonsilitis or strep amazingly quick. The docotrs refised to take his tonsils out - he had to have had several episodes of illness within a certain period of time (dumbest thing I ever heard), and he alwasy missed that criteria by one or so events.
He was also prone to migraines beginning at age 13 (runs in the family), and I could tell the 'look' pf those and knew he was not faking.
My problems started when he was in high school and would pull the tummy issues from both ends. Don't know how he did it (his secret is still safe), but he could even fake both of those! He is now 23 and just smiles as he proudly recounts the times he fooled mom and got to saty home - even though the joke was on him - no phone, in bed, and if it ran into a Saturday, he was in bed and off the floor that day too!
I always keep children's Motrin at the ready, cold medicine sparingly now (baby is 9 months old) and half the dose, and use as many old fashioned remedies as possible. I like the garlic idea - will have to keep that in mind!
My middle child - missed maybe three days of school hiw entire school career - and to this day refuses to let on when he is sick. I discovered recently he was going to the doctor not for a check-up , but due to kidney pain and back issues. He never would have told me, but got so scared he had to ask about some symptoms - then it all came out. He would have- and did - anything he could to make sure he never missed a day.
Hard to say what the baby will do - if anything like his father, a stubbing of the toe will send him into convulsions and put him in bed for days! lol!
Kids....too bad mother's intuition doesn't include x-ray vision!
(yes - honey, lemon and whiskey is a wonderful remedy, along with the hot tea and honey for sore throats. And - Catnip, made into tea, works wonders for tummy trouble. I am NEVER without that in the house!)
Bad head cold...cup of HOT tea with some brandy/whiskey in it...
Brandy and water is a terrific colic "cure". Fill the bottle with gently warmed water, add several drops of rasberry brandy, and that sore tummie will calm right down! My pediatrician told me that one...and it worked...even better, combine this with a long ride in the car and mommie can finally get some sleep...
My hot cup of tea with a shot or so of Brandy works real well when they have a sore throat/chest congestion. They swallow the brew...shake their heads from the taste...sweat on the forehead...body shakes...but by dang it works. Next morning shows the improvement. Steve
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) - go to school
I was so thankful that the garlic trick worked. And I'm never out of children's tylenol anymore! It's experiences like that which stay with you... I have a hard time not buying it when I pass by it at the store. lol
