gcvmom
Here we go again!
difficult child 1 was off school all last week and (no surprise) his IBS was much better -- less stress, less anxiety = less pain.
It was also no surprise that this morning he was feeling crummy again when he got up. I do not doubt that his pain is real. But I do believe that I may be too available for him to call to be picked up from school when he's not feeling well. So today I wanted to try an experiment to see if he can tough it out without me dropping everything to come get him.
He's texted me 3 times this morning to complain of feeling bad, of feeling cold, and of a small scratch on his hip that he says hurts a lot. (It really does look like a very minor scratch -- he has no idea how he got it, either). But I very nicely and with much compassion told him before I took him to school that I would NOT be able to come pick him up today because I have a plumber coming between 11 and 1 and I have to be at home. I really do have a plumber coming, and although I COULD rush over to pick him up if there was an emergency, I want him to try to cope with his discomfort on his own. Maybe this seems cruel, but I think it's something we need to try. Kinda reminds me of how we would gradually let him cry himself to sleep when he was little (he was very clingy as a baby). Each night we waited five minutes longer before going in to comfort him, and eventually he was able to settle down on his own.
We'll see what the day brings...
It was also no surprise that this morning he was feeling crummy again when he got up. I do not doubt that his pain is real. But I do believe that I may be too available for him to call to be picked up from school when he's not feeling well. So today I wanted to try an experiment to see if he can tough it out without me dropping everything to come get him.
He's texted me 3 times this morning to complain of feeling bad, of feeling cold, and of a small scratch on his hip that he says hurts a lot. (It really does look like a very minor scratch -- he has no idea how he got it, either). But I very nicely and with much compassion told him before I took him to school that I would NOT be able to come pick him up today because I have a plumber coming between 11 and 1 and I have to be at home. I really do have a plumber coming, and although I COULD rush over to pick him up if there was an emergency, I want him to try to cope with his discomfort on his own. Maybe this seems cruel, but I think it's something we need to try. Kinda reminds me of how we would gradually let him cry himself to sleep when he was little (he was very clingy as a baby). Each night we waited five minutes longer before going in to comfort him, and eventually he was able to settle down on his own.
We'll see what the day brings...