No fever but refusing to go back to school

[marykat2004]

6 yo DD is refusing to go to school. She was off sick since Friday with a fever (38,4). Went to doctor Monday and the doctor examined her and said she;d be ok for Tuesday. But she was coughing and vomited once from coughing Tuesday. She seemed better last night. Temp is 37.5 now, only a little elevated.

DD is very strong willed and if she had her way she would do nothing but watch tv all the time.

I told her no tv if she is sick today she has to stay in bed but once the hour for going to school is past she will get up and complain of bored.

what to do?

If you are sure that she is defiantly well enough I would make her go in or at least follow through your in bed all day threat (by dinner she will probably want to be in school)

I really can't tell. She is so willful, so subject to tantrums, i can't tell if she is still really ill or putting it on so she can spend another day watching tv. (which we let her do all the sick day so far as what else does one do when ill? In hindsight I guess we should have made her stay in bed with no tv all along.)

DH got her dressed but she was screaming and refused to eat. She knows we do not give in to tantrums but I really can't tell if she is ill or trying it on. But in the I've put her back to bed with NO TV and no playing all day. If she had gone to school I would still have had to stay home in case she is still ill and in case the school called me to pick her up.

Just make sure you follow through with no TV and no playing.

Make it as boring as possible (and give a really bland lunch as 'if you're ill you need bland food') and you'll find she'll be fine tomorrow...

Personally, I go by this: if I'm not sure, then dd gets the one extra day - but thats it. Usually, if I"m not sure, its because her health is borderline - and I don't want her back at school too fast, to get sick again, anyway.

But yes, do make it more boring - even my 4yr old has found it hard to let go of all day TV after a week of flu!

So far so good. We have done reading (her reading to me) and now she is drawing. She understands no tv at all today. She gets really bratty after too much CBBC anyway. (I should start another post about that...)

Thanks