Tuesday, February 10, 2009

But Mom, I'm sick . . .

The kids have figured out that they don't have to go to school when they're sick. Luke wakes up every morning and says he's not feeling well so he can't go to school. Evie picked it up today. The problem with this is the very real possibility that they aren't crying wolf, but I have no way to tell. So, feeling only a little guilt, I send them off to school despite complaints of a tummy ache, sore throat, head aches, etc. Most days it is fine, but the worst feeling is getting a call from a teacher confirming that one of the kids is indeed sick. That is what happened last week with Luke's ear infection. The best way for us to tell if they are faking is to ask if they need to go see the doctor. Usually the fear of having to get a shot will tell us whether or not they are truly sick. Luke tends to answer honestly if he feels bad enough that he wants the doctor to fix it. It's not a fool-proof solution, but it is the best one I've got so far.

2 comments:

Cowtown Camera Girl said...

What a tough call. I never truly understood the guilt involved with being a parent until I became one. Last Thursday we took Ezra to daycare even though I had the feeling he was off just a little. Sure enough I got a call at about 11:00 saying that he just wasn't himself. I tried to stretch it out to see if he could make it (knowing that we were both going to be taking off work already Friday and Monday)so I got him a doctor appointment at 4:00 p.m. Sure enough it was an ear infection! Talk about some serious Mommy guilt for not picking him up earlier.

Jess said...

Nicholas has started doing this too. Most of the time he complains of having a tummy ache or a cough (he will then fake cough). He has also tried to convince us that he wants to stay home because he wants to snuggle with us all day. It is hard to take him into school after that.