To think DS should have been sent home after fainting?

[sunsetseasky]

DS fainted this morning in assembly. They asked him if he'd eaten and he said no, so they made him have some toast.

However, AIBU to think they really should have called me and sent him home?

[MaisyPops]

For someone that dislikes breakfast, all those ideas just won't work. Glass of water, dry crackers or breadsticks and/or fruit juice are my best suggestions
Lots of us who don't like breakfast have replied with what we do.

At the end of the day he is 10 years old.

I'm not a breakfast person but my mum still made me have breakfast because i was a child and it was her job as my parent.
By teen years it's harder to police but my mum would give me a bigger snack for break time when I was better at eating.
Even now I don't have breakfast first thing but as a kid no way was i telling my mum that i wouldn't eat a meal.

[ferrier]

For someone that dislikes breakfast, all those ideas just won't work. Glass of water, dry crackers or breadsticks and/or fruit juice are my best suggestions.
All of which ignore the fact there could easily be some other reason that he fainted and to straight out attribute it to lack of food is potentially dangerous.

[yikesanotherbooboo]

Fainting is common particularly if standing for a while and if hungry. I wouldn't expect to be called from school if DC had made a good recovery and DC could tel me at home time.i was a fainter and was about this age the first time it happened. All three of my children have fainted for various reasons.
As far as breakfast is concerned he isn't old enough to decide that he doesn't want it , is he? I would say to him that the faint might have been caused by missing breakfast and so from now on he has to have it. If he struggles when he first gets up then he could get up earlier so that he acclimatises to the day for a while before eating. Discuss options with him eg porridge, eggs, beans on toast, sandwiches or whatever.i would think that the school would take a dim view of him going in to school without breakfast again after this. After all he might have hurt himself .

[hemel07]

I would be furious not to be informed. My DS fainted once (at home) and I had him checked out by the GP straight away, who performed an ECG. Who are the school to decide if this was a simple faint or not???

[RavingRoo]

Demand he eat something. Refuse to let him leave without. As I said parenting is difficult. As he got better after toast, his not eating breakfast is the problem and it needs to be sorted out.

[runsmidgeOMG]

I have to agree with @MaisyPops

If he was a teenager it would almost be his choice but since he is only 10/11 he may not have the full mental capacity to fully/ properly understand potential issues from not eating.

He's been fine until now, great ! However I'd probably be using this as an example of what happens when you don't eat. Even if it's a small nibble of something to begin with.

[PurpleMinionMummy]

Yanbu. If he's never fainted before he needs checking over.

My ds faints occasionally and he's very pale and out of sorts for an hour or so before he gets back to himself. School called me immediately when it happened there.

[ParadiseCity]

How is he now?

I can't eat breakfast either. It's just abhorrent to me. So I do understand how he feels. I know when it is 10.45am as that's when something built into me goes PING! And I want to eat.

[WyfOfBathe]

YANBU, I would want DD to be sent home if she fainted. I know it's not necessarily serious, but I see it as a similar "level" of illness to vomiting.

My sister faints whenever she's unwell, and has done since she was about your DS' age, so it's not a massive deal for her. I've only fainted once in my life, so I think I would be quite shaken after it.

[itusedtobeverydifferent]

Also something to perhaps be aware of OP - a School may possibly flag this as a safeguarding concern, especially if it happens again.

[itusedtobeverydifferent]

I do think that the parent should be contacted if a child faints, even if the child is fine straight after. To make the parent aware and allow them to make a choice whether said child remains at school or goes Home.

[itusedtobeverydifferent]

On the eating thing- mine are slightly younger but my eldest...not by much. I won't allow her to go to school without something, even an apple, yoghurt, cheese sandwich if need be.

I wonder if your son is having a growth spurt and his body is using so much extra energy that now he needs fuel before school , even if it wasn't an issue before.

[HaudYerWheeshtBawbag]

When at school he is there responsibility and they are the best the best to assess him, and make a call if he required medical help.

He may not want breakfast but as the parents it’s your responsibility to ensure he has something to eat.

[LynetteScavo]

YANBU.

Both times my secondary aged DS feuded at school we were called and advised to take him to hospital.

I've known schools call an ambulance for a child fainting.

[Tsundoku]

Op knows what is normal for her son and school doesn't. Hence why op should have been called.

YY to this. Fainting might not seem like a huge deal if you're already prone to it, but if an otherwise healthy child (or even adult) faints for the first time, I think it warrants more attention. Randomly fainting was the first real sign a friend of mine had a serious heart condition (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy).

I don't want to fearmonger, and the odds are it's nothing serious, but I'm surprised the school didn't even notify parents.

[Starlight2345]

I think you are not unreasonable to expect them to call you.

I do think as they go through growth spurts they really do need more food. My DS for years ate Krave for breakfast I thought it was an awful breakfast but at least he was eating something.

You know your DS better than anyone else. You know what he might eat. whether it is a ceral bar walking along to school, toast with chocolate spread, a yoghurt drink, hot chocolate made with lots of milk., my son has gone off cereal at the minute so we find lots of other things.

[MaisyPops]

I agree on sending him in with a banana or cereal bar or those weetabix smoothies. It's not really for a 10 year old to be informing their parent what they will/won't do.

I hate eating on a morning, always have (and it meanf i missed a meal regularly through my teens, which wasn't good for me but my mum sent me in with a substantial snack for break).
Now i take pots of fruit and yoghurt, porrige pots, smoothies etc to have once i get to work and can face eating.

[ferrier]

What may be normal for one child is not flr another. It would not be a normal physiological response for me to faint at any time despite not having eaten breakfast for 20 years.
However, I did faint once as a reaction to an underlying neck injury.
Op knows what is normal for her son and school doesn't. Hence why op should have been called.

[heateallthebuns]

I was always fainting at school. I just used to have a lie down in the sick room then back to lessons. It's pretty normal I'd say.

[notacooldad]

I know you said your DS is adamant that he doesn't want to eat anything but do you think something like a smoothie would work instead? I know it's not the issue here but as others have said it's a long time for a kid to go from supper time to lunch time with nothing to eat.
DP used to make a babana or strawberry smoothie made with some whey powder in and occasionly half an avacado ( we never told him that bit though) a bit of vanilla and a teaspoon of nine mixed with almond milk gave him calories, carbs and protein. It may be worth a try or putting it in a bottle to have mid morning.

With regard to the fainting, I'm not sure. I was a serial fainter. Going home wouldn't have achieved anything.

[Cynara]

*should have said - I'm a paramedic, we see this quite a lot.

[Trailedanderror]

How long has he not eaten breakfast for? It's pretty basic parenting to fed your child- even if they don't want breakfast.

[Cynara]

A simple faint is not a medical emergency. If he said he hadn't eaten, but was given toast and was then fine, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that he had a normal physiological response to missing breakfast followed by standing for a while. If he's suffered no adverse effects I wouldn't worry about it, but would suggest sending him to school with a banana or muesli bar to eat in the morning when he feels that he can manage food.

[sunsetseasky]

He won't.

I don't know whether to say something or not. I am a bit surprised and disappointed I wasn't told.

[bigbluebus]

DS fainted at Primary school once - they didn't ring me, just told me at the end of the day. It was a hot day and they had been standing up for class photographs.
He fainted again at Secondary school but because he shook quite severely whilst he was down they weren't sure if it was some sort of seizure so they did ring me to come and collect him and get him seen by our GP. He was as right as rain when I got to him but I took him around the corner to the GP to be checked over. Guess what the first question the GP asked DS was? It was "have you had breakfast?" Which in his case he actually had, but clearly lack of food is the cause in many cases of fainting.

You need to explain to your DS that breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it fuels the brain after an overnight of being starved. He should eat something before he leaves the house. He will get into the habit and it won't be an issue for him as his body gets used to it.