Monday, May 4, 2009

Inquiring Minds Want to Know


If one of your kids comes to you in the morning and says that they don't feel well and don't want to go to school....BUT you can tell that they feel just fine and just don't want to go to school what do you do?

For the record this happened to me just this morning. I told the child that she would have to stay in her room in bed if she really wasn't feeling well and she said "Fine" and that she really didn't feel well. I let her stay home. Now she is upstairs throwing a fit because I won't let her go outside and play basketball or watch tv or get on the computer. Good times.

32 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I would do the same thing. If you don't feel well enough to go to school, then you don't feel well enough to do anything else.

Jillene said...

I agree 100%!! If you stay home but then want to play--NO WAY!!

i'm erin. said...

I would give her the option of getting up only to clean the house. Then when she starts to not feel good again I would say, go to bed. I think you did great.

mCat said...

I always did the EXACT same thing. No school? Bed the ENTIRE TIME! Usually, never faked again!
Until they get old enough to figure out how to sluff : (

Jules AF said...

Just wait until she starts lying to you about being sick. I used to call my mom while dumping water into the toilet, pretending that I was throwing up. hahaha Apparently, I've always been a slacker.

Me (aka Danielle) said...

I would have done the same thing. My parents eliminated this by allowing me 2 'play days' and 4 sick days (which could be extended at their discretion). So..I grew to know that if I wanted to 'sluff' I could, but that I had only 2 days worth. Needless to say..I didn't fake sick, because I did it ate into my 'free sluff's'.

Dawn Parsons Smith said...

I do the same thing here! No school..no fun! Good for you!

Christa said...

I go through this every.single.day. with my 7 year old. He's constantly coming up with new ailments.

It depends on my mood whether or not I will let them stay home. If I'm crabby, it's off to school they go. If I'm okay with them staying, they have to follow the same rules you set down. Staying home means having no fun. That usually does the trick and they're suddenly willing to go. Every once in a while it does backfire on me. ☺

Rachel Sue said...

I think you're totally right. I would have done the same thing.

Jillybean said...

I have one chid who tries this frequently. I send him to school and tell him that if he doesn't get feeling better to call me and I will come and get him. Most of the time he never calls.

If I let the kids stay home, they don't get to play. I would have done the same thing you did.

Lady of Perpetual Chaos said...

I think I'd probably do the same thing you did. If you're "sick", you're in bed. Unless you're really sick and then you get just about anything you want. My kids aren't old enough to have figured that out yet. ;o)

Anonymous said...

hugs!!!! Slime is going to be home all week... I feel your pain

and I do the same thing!

Kate said...

This has happened to me so many times so I started with a rule that if they stayed home sick they couldn't watch tv or play with friends during the day. Good luck.

Barbaloot said...

That's totally what I'd do...if I had kids and they said that. If she's really sick, playing basketball shouldn't be something she wants to do, eh? :)

Lara Neves said...

Yep. Good job, mom. If my kids are sick there is no fun to be had, except maybe a movie or two. Although, if I suspected they weren't sick, I would limit it to reading in bed. Movies are only for the truly ill. :)

tammy said...

Well, it depends on the child with me. If they're doing well in school, good grades, haven't missed, and just need a break, sometimes I will let them stay home and have a free day. Usually though, I tell them if they're not really sick, then they need to go to school so that they can miss a day in the next week or two for us to have a free day.

My mom would let us take a day off every once in awhile to just stay home or go to lunch with her and I loved it. It made me want to work harder so I could earn those days off. So I do it for my kids too.

Missy said...

Very good call! I usually insist they go anyway, only to have the nurse call telling me they are vomiting and have a temp of 105! The nurse always has that voice like "I cannot believe you sent your sick child to school."

Vanessa said...

I tell my oldest the same thing. and if she is faking it, she usually ends up going to school.

Sweet Tea said...

Busted!
You called her bluff and next time she'll think twice before fakin' it. It's not easy being a kid, and it's definitely not easy being a Mom. Good job!

Sher said...

As I'm sure you gathered from our get together on Saturday, I am NOT a hover-mother. Nor am I particularly nurturing. I usually tell my kids to suck it up, and go to school, unless they're barfing their brains out, barking up a lung, or running baking temperatures. And that's just to stay home from school. It takes more than that to get me to take them to the doctor.

3 Bay B Chicks said...

Oh. This is a tough one, but I would have to say that you did the right thing. Maybe the next time your daughter is feeling "ill," she might rethink her condition and head out to school instead.

Parenting is not for the weak-minded.

-Francesca

springrose said...

I am a mean mom! I not only make them stay in bed, and inside and no tv-movies etc. But they are also on a restricted diet! Since they are after all sick. They can't have pot roast and yummy potatoes, or homemade milk shakes, or homemade cookies etc. So yes I am MEAN!! They don't want to skip school or church again!

Pedaling said...

i have that rule
you stay home
you don't go out to play.
even if you "feel better" later on

now i usually say, something like
"why don't you just see how long you can make it"
only if i can tell that they really are not sick, though.
or at least not sick enough...

Anonymous said...

ha! i let my kids watch tv, play wii and eat donuts!

wendy said...

YOU DID THE RIGHT THING----I made that same rule at our home when the kids were sahying that had to stay home from school. good job mom.

Jan said...

Good for you sticking with the right plan. It is hard, but maybe she will realize it isn't that much fun to do fake sick. We have all tried that. I still do.

Wendyburd1 said...

Ohh hard one. I had one where I asked to go home in 8th grade and my Mom picked me up and I told her everything. One of my "friends" told a good friend I was going around calling her fat and everyone believed this other girl, even though I was never one to be mean. I could barely hold the tears in, my Mom was great.

Jo said...

I do the same. They can stay home, but they have to stay in bed.

Karen said...

When my kids were in school they had to be either vomiting or have a fever to stay home. And they had to stay in bed too. They didn't stay home often.

tiburon said...

They can stay home from school - but if they are too sick for school they are too sick for activities.

Works every time. :)

Unknown said...

I do exactly what you did. Our rule is bed or couch (no XBOX, etc) and no friends, bike rides, etc... it is amazing how reminding them of this rule clears up headaches and sore throats instantly!

Sometimes, they stay home and follow it. I get that, too- we all need a rest day sometimes!

Becca said...

We had a very similar issue this week. Mine was sort of sick and I made him stay home and rest because he was coughing uncontrollably the whole night before. He felt fine, but I knew he would only get better if he slowed down. So, I made him slow down.
i might have been called a mean mom on more than one occasion, but I'm OK being a mean mom--better that than a pushover!