claire's tummy problem

for a while, claire has been suffering from tummy bloatedness with stitchy pain at different parts of her abdomen.

i knew she had to avoid cold stuff, spicy/ sour tom yam stuff and maybe heaty durian too. (yes, she took some durian puff on tues)

ystdy morn, she created an episode at home, yes, just before her sch going hr. rbr she had her immunisation jab in sch on tues aft and was whining a fair bit. maybe, she did feel uncomfortable with a lil temperature.

so, while getting ready for sch ystdy morn, she was almost in tears, when she came in to the bedroom to tell me that her stomach hurt. i could hv given her a day of off, if she has had fever or really felt sick. but on the basis of tummy discomfort, i would hv expected her to learn to manage her pain and proceeded with sch, but giving her the option,"if u truly feel unwell, call home in the morn and walk home with helper!"

she refused bfst and finally went into crying mode. it was hard for me to assess the severity of her tummy problem. so, she ended up being scolded by me again. gheez! to think that my morn was spoilt becoz' of her 'uncontrolled' behaviour and i had played right into it!

i sent her to sch eventually and decided to walk her in. so, instead of alighting her at the usual bus-stop for her to enter through the gate, i parked at the opposite public carpark to walk her in...then, she started her whole stressful whining again in tears,"why u nvr let me alight beside the gate? see lah, i'm going to be late again!"

wow, that was my last straw....i got down the car and disregarding the public stares, 我把她骂个臭头! she was totally embarassed and signalled me to stop my scolding.

her whole behaviour was a state of stress, fearing for this and that, and running from parade square to the sch hall lest she will be late.....i wonder why she can bear with the pain, when she's at home, watching tv or chewing on tidbits. but, to only kick up a fuss when it's sch going time! avoidance strategy?

the difficult part of it all was, it's hard to talk to the kids when they are whining and stressed out in tears...so, the whole matter was left at that.

in the aft when i picked her up, she was still complaining abt stomach discomfort and how she had tolerated it in sch. that was the point! tolerance.

my lecturing msg to her was simple,"it's knowing what food to avoid and learning to tolerate with pain. staying at home to laze ur time away isnt a wise strategy, unless a kid is genuinely sick! in the least, i would hv expected you to state verbally your level of physical discomfort, not cry....learning to manage one's stress is relevant. but to add on undue stress on one's shoulder is uncalled for!" she reslly ruined my morn.

she's been having some lousy teachers in sch and she's feeling the extra burden of sch work plus the exams coming? well, this is part and parcel of growing up, as i was advising her. without these, a kid will always remain young and childish!

i brought her to the doc to get some medication. she was simply diagnosed with colicky symptoms and was also prescribed with gastric syrup to overcome the problem. then, she happily went for her art class!

in the night, she was suddenly down with hot flush, probably a result of her jab the day before. some of her sch mates actually got fever! took panadol and seemed to recover fast.

i hope she will get better and meanwhile, i told her to cut down on cheesy and otak stuff, 2 of her favourite.

in the night, she was still working on her math problem sums but was certainly looking more relaxed. so, i reckon that she knew she's getting a day of rest on thur, so feeling no stress from handing in her sch work on time!

this is a growing up phase....but i want claire to gradually become more independent, be more mindful of what she eats and learn to deal with stress level! you either learn it now and or you will be attacked by it!