Anyone else's child trying it on (C19)?

[IngeniusJean]

My DD12 dislikes school. She moans about it everyday, but comes home saying she quite enjoyed it. She's fairly bright, still finding her feet at secondary school but otherwise ok. Just before lockdown she developed a cough with associated sad face at school that completely disappeared as soon as she was in the car when I had been called to collect her. She's had a history of various things like this that turn out fine, agonising ankle, limping like crazy, followed by xray showing nothing and walking outnof A and E just fine. They then wouldn't have her back and then a few days later lockdown was there anyway. She's just come to see me saying she has a blocked up nose and it's making breathing difficult. No other symptoms at all, except sad face, and she's obviously not checked her c19 symptoms as blocked nose is not one of them. I can see she's trying to get out of school.
I'm pretty worried she'll cotton on soonish to the actual symptoms and develop a few overbthe coming months. Im a delivery driver and my DH is a teacher. I'm terrified this will escalate with her.

yeah, its going to be a long winter isnt it. Both my two schoolies have had days off already

I've got one of these too. Unless she's got an obvious illness and I can see she feels rotten I usually just tell her to go to first aid if she still feeling ill when she gets to school. The first aid staff are pretty good at working out who isn't really ill. However with covid it's really difficult. Make sure you tell her the main symptom is a fever which is pretty hard to fake and kids are pretty much asymptomatic anyway!

Nope. But thats because poor genuinely coughing DD has been confined to upstairs so stay away from vulnerable DS who is confined to downstairs. She's also desperate for a test so she doesn't have to scared of killing him.

Spell out what will happen if she has to stay off. Lay it on thick. Confined to room, isolated until she gets a test, expected to do schoolwork no computer games etc, clean the bath room herself thoroughly everytime she uses it. Explain that it took 14 hours to get a test. Explain that other people need tests. If she takes a test she doesn't need she be depriving a test from someone who is vulnerable , lives with someone vulnerable or a key worker.

Properly explain the impact.

But also I'd worry she genuinely is unhappy at school. And start those conversations too.

Yes! DS is similar. Pathetic cough and sad face...followed by I'm too ill to go to school, grin.

I'm debating between describing in great detail how they do the test and not in case he does actually have to have the test at some point.

I did explain I would call his teacher and ask them to send home work, that I would give him things to do and there would be no screen time. That seems to have staved off any more attempts for now.

Daughter pulling the same trick here! She was off ill last week but returned now but I've had numerous conversations with her that start like this " Muuuuuuuuum, I don't feel" and them a barrage of symptoms 🙄 always recovers well when I explain how much housework etc she'll have to do while she's off x

The answer is to make the time off v dull. So in bed, lights dim, no tv/screens/phone/anything as she needs to "rest". Of she prefers that to school for more than 24 hours then the real problem is why she dislikes/fears school so much.

How was she lockdown? Was she happy to self study?

Tell her how horrific the test is and that she HAS to have one every time you suspect Covid. That should put her off?

No dont tell her that. For one thing it's not horrific, just unpleasant, and for another imagine terrifying her now then needing her to do the test when she actually gets sick at some point (she's bound to need one sooner or later).

Mine didn't fake it, but youngest had a persistent cough last week. School have been on the ball with home learning and sent work for both kids. They had far more to do than when we were off pre-summer and found it hard going.

They certainly don't want a repeat of the 2 days of home schooling we had last week ;)

Tell her if she feels ill, she needs to stay in bed, since it's a potentially serious illness, no fun stuff. And tell her the definition of self isolating, what's involved.