How To Know If Your Child Is Pretending To Be Sick

Try to find out if you are part of the problem

Expecting too much of the child can cause anxiety problems. Disorganized and disorderly families where parents also reflect physical pain caused psychologically are also most likely to have kids who will fake it – this is because these kids pattern themselves after their parents. Very often, the symptoms of the child are similar to the symptoms of the parent, so if the mother says she has a terrible headache before a job interview, the kid may do the same thing before a chemistry exam. If you think you live in this kind of household it is best to seek professional help in dealing with anxiety and depression as well as other psychological problems that may lead to physical problems.

If you have confirmed that the request to stay home because of illness is really just a dupe, then don’t encourage or reinforce ’sick behavior’. Don’t offer the chicken soup or a TV show, otherwise, the kid would enjoy staying at home and this would cause him/her to fake it again in the future because it was a pleasant experience.