Not taking "sick" child home

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

Had a phone call from ds 6 school saying could I collect as hed been sick.I left work to go and get him and remembered hed said last night that he didn't want to go to school as he hates P.E.(which is in the pm)

When I arrived at reception I asked the receptionist if anyone had seen ds be sick,she said no.I explained what ds had told me last night so she went and got his teacher to speak to me.

Ds teacher admitted that although ds had said hed been sick hed eaten all his dinner and was chatting happily about his upcoming birthday.
I said well if you are happy for him to stay then I'd like him to as I think he might be putting it on.She agreed that it was a possibility so ive left and will pick him up in an hour at the end of school.

I feel really guilty but my gut instinct is telling me hes fine but of course I could be wrong and I'll feel like the worst parent ever later .AIBU?

This sounds fine to me. You haven't refused to take a sick child home, you've been to the school and talked it over with the staff and both agreed on a course of action.

I did the same after 3 or 4 times of picking up my perfectly well DS from school, he doesn't do it now, he knows. I felt like shit though at the time you did the right thing OP.

I work in another school and their policy is unless an adult has seen the child be sick or there is sick in the toilet bowl then they cant go home.I wish they would do this at ds school.

I think it's OK - but have you spoken to him about why he hates PE? A friend of mine lied for six months about migraines to get out of gym class - turns out he was experiencing a lot of homophobic bullying in the changing rooms. Not saying it's that serious, but it might be worth a chat to see if there's any way to help him enjoy it more. After all, if he was struggling with maths, you'd probably talk to him and see if there was a way to help him out.

You've done the right thing!

@FineWordsForAPorcupine I'm going to ask him again when he gets home.When I asked last night he just said he didn't like it.

Sounds like you’ve come up with a sensible plan. But it’s definitely worth following up why he didn’t want to do PE. As above it does seem to be a flashpoint for bullying, especially in changing rooms where there’s often minimal supervision.

Well he won't be trying it on again any time soon.

You’ve done the right thing, but do you know the reasons why he doesn’t like P.E?

My son used to do similar things to this. He has an issue with his brain, so if he gets a sudden unexplained headache we have to get him checked out. Whenever there was a lesson he didn't want to do, he would constantly say he had a headache, and once i realised the pattern I warned the school, so they are aware. He soon realised that I would come and give him some medicine if he had a "headache", but he wasn't coming home, and now he doesn't do it. We also told the story of the boy who cried wolf.

I think you have done the right thing completely. You didn't ignore that he felt poorly, you went to see if he was okay, discovered that he was fine and let him carry on his day without giving into him. Well done!

I was right.Teacher said hed been fine and ds admitted it was because he doesnt like p.e.No bullying apparently just prefers reading and writing.