Okay ladies, I'm stumped...so I turn to you in all your wisdom.
My 5 1/2 yo daughter just started kindergarten in September. She had had two years of preschool prior to starting kindergarten. Ever since the first day of school she has been complaining that her stomach hurts. The first few days we thought it might just be nerves. Well she's been going everyday for over a month now and is still complaining that her stomach hurts in the morning. I mean she rolls out of bed and the first thing out of her mouth is "Goodmorning mom, my stomach really hurts."
I don't know what I can do to help her. She's not sick. She really excells in school and she loves to go everyday. I should also add that she says the same thing on Saturday and Sunday morning too. When she gets home from school she says her stomach ache is gone and that it went away when she got to school. This morning her stomach hurts so badly that she won't even eat her breakfast. Mornings are very laid back in my house, at least until the last five minutes before we have to get out the door. Mainly the kids just chill for about an hour after they wake up and then we start getting ready. So I ask, have any of you experienced anything like this, and how did you remedy the problem? Is it something she will grow out of or do I need to seek medical advice?
Thank you , T.
Thank you ladies for all your advice, imput and wisdom.
I do think it is anxiety about school, simply because it only started when school did. We went to a Fall Festival at the school over the weekend and low and behold she had won a coloring contest! Her name and coloring were displayed for everyone to see and out of the 80 kids in the kindergarten class she had won. She was so excited and so was I, I think it was just the boost of confidence she needed and reassurance that she's doing a good job. When she woke up this morning no stomach ache! Off to school she went without mentioning anything was wrong.
I appreciate all the advice given and took all things into consideration. She is getting pleanty of vitamins, sleep, family time and large enough undies ;) I honestly think it's just anxiety about doing a good job in school. We will get through this. Thanks again.
My son has the same thing. The doctor suggested that we give him a snack right before bed. Once we did that, it has been rare that he wakes up with the stomach pain. It was bad pain too sometimes he would be crying. Once he ate in the morning he was fine. Good luck to you.
G.
T.,
I could have written your question! My daughter is in first grade now and about to turn 7. Last year, (after 2 years of preschool) when she started kindergarten it was the same exact thing. Every single morning..."I have a tummy ache!". She is very, very smart but for some reason had major anxiety about being in school. I took her to the doctor several times and the doctor agreed that it was anxiety. She also started having to go potty (just urinate) during school...10-15 times a day. The doctor said that was also nerves after urine specimens etc.
It did get better toward the end of the year, but it was very frustrating because she LOVED school and her teachers! I think it was just being away from me for the full day as opposed to preschool.
Make sure you spend plenty of time with her when she is not in school, never ever be late picking her up (major anxiety!!) and let her talk about her feelings every day. I ask my daughter every day, "What was the best part of your day?, What was the worst part of your day?, What did you have for lunch? & What new thing did you learn today?" It gets her talking and she loves when I ask her those questions :) I would ask her about her teachers a lot too...does she think they like her? Are they "nice"? Is there anyone in her class that isn't being nice to her? And talk to her teachers. Tell them she is experiencing a lot of anxiety about school and ask them to be extra sweet to her. Also, make sure she is getting at LEAST 11 full hours of sleep every nite so being tired doesn't add to it.
My daughter admitted that she seemed to think she was going to get "in trouble" at school if she did something wrong. I don't know why she thought that, because she never did anything to get "in trouble" at home or at school but it made her afraid. Try to figure out what she is afraid of and address it.
Don't worry...it will get better! My daughter has only complained twice in first grade of a tummy ache in the morning and I knew what was bothering her. Good luck!
Anxiety is a funny thing. Sometimes I get it and for no real reason. I think some of us are hardwired for it. I think that could be the case with your daughter. She may love school, but there is a anxious part of her about actually getting there and being out of control. After all, once there she can't even go to the bathroom without permission. I was this way as a child. I think as a parent you are doing the right thing by being empathetic but not making a big deal and allowing her to push through it. My bet is that the second she walks in the classroom most of that feeling subsides. The more successes she has (getting to school in the morning is a success) the less fearful she will become.
Is she possibly lactose intolerant? Some other sort of food allergy. My oldest always had a bad stomach and I just thought she couldn't handle the hard water or acidic foods. She was very severely allergic to corn and that was a large part of our diet.
Then her stomach would hurt whenever it was time to read. It was clock work! She needed glasses and that stomach ache was ruled out as nerves.
Hi,
What time does she have dinner before going to bed? Maybe it's because she's hungry. Somtimes we get so hungry that we don't feel like eating anymore.
Then again, maybe it's just an idea she's gotten in her head about something. My almost 5yo step daughter got the idea in her head that if she said her tummy hurt during dinner, that she didn't have to eat anymore. We then explained that she could just say that she was full and she wasn't going to get in trouble for that. Did she get out of eating something she didn't like one morning because she said her tummy hurt? Or maybe out of a chore?
Best of luck.
Also, sometimes it is a bowel movement.
Yes...it could be hunger pangs...and it could be anxiety...but don't rule out the fact that if could be something else. Our son had a lot of stomach pains when he was younger. He saw a pediatric gastroentrologist who restricted his diet...took out all the foods my son loved at that age...fried foods...acid based foods (spaghetti sauce, pizza, ketchup)...pickles...spicy foods etc. This was when he was loving ketchup on everything he ate. He soon started to feel better, and could have his favorite foods...but in a more limited quantity and to him, the sacrifice was worth it to feel better.
Sound like anxiety. She may be stressing about her day. Even if everything is fine this can happen. I have anxiety problems too and I feeling sick to my stomach when it gets going.
My kids usually do this when they're hungry. Just in case they really do have a stomach bug, I tell them to start to slowly but something into their tummies - a handful of dry Cheerios and some water. As that kicks in and they wake up more, then we move on to real breakfast. It has worked at our house so far... Good luck~
Is she just stressed about school? Even though she loves going to school is there an aspect of it that just causes her anxiety? Maybe she worries about getting ready on time and/or being late? My son has major anxiety and he also complains of headaches and stomaches. I don't advocate just throwing meds at kids but once he started anxiety medication the headaches and stomaches stopped. Maybe call her pediatrician and just ask what they say. Good luck.
T.,
I have an idea....tested with my own DD; I think it's hunger pangs. My DD couldn't differentiate between hunger pangs and a stomachache and she would say her tummy hurt in the morning (before breakfast) and usually, just before dinner. I finally figured this out and taught her what that feeling really was. So your daughter might just be hungry also, the idea of eating a full breakfast just after waking up might not feel good to her. My own DD likes to wait about 1/2 hour or so after waking up before she eats, and then eats a little. Around 10am she's pretty hungry for a snack. My suggestion is to ease your daughter into breakfast with a breakfast drink-warm milk, or a carnation instant breakfast, until she's ready to eat the rest of her breakfast. Good luck!
My son has gone through periods like this. It eventually passes. I think it's anxiety about school, even though, like you daughter, he's a great student and has many friends.
I was like that but he's not as bad as I was--thank goodness!
I just make sure that when he goes to bed, he knows that he is ready and prepared for the next day.....good luck.
Don’t laugh, but is her underwear to tight??? When I was a kid I always had this issue, so when ever my son complains about his tummy that is the first issue I suggest. When my kids grow there tummies pop out a little more and everything gets tight, but then after they grow the tummy shrinks back down. Also it may be that she is so hungry in the morning. I know my son does not eat as good of supper during school as he is busy trying to make the most of his playtime since all he gets is a little before bedtime. Also when was the last time she pooped? This also causes tummy aches. I have my kids eat lots of yogurt to help keep everything regular. Hope this helps and good luck!
usually when my kids stomachs hurt it is because of needing to have a bm, you say she hurts on the weekends also, pay attention to when it goes away, if it is after a bm then maybe she has a mild allergy or somthing else is affecting her digestion
is she getting enough sleep? my 5 yo kindergartener has been doing the same thing recently and the only pattern we can find is when she's up really late the night before. one night she came home from school complaining of her stomach hurting and went to bed at 6 pm (without dinner) and slept til 7 am and was magically healed
Hi, T.:
Get her some multi vitamins and some probiotics and
help build her up.
At meal time talk to her and see what is going on at school.
Good luck.
D.
I know you already solved this but I'm just going to tell you something.
My entire youth I had this. No one listened to me. They assumed it was anxiety or all this other junk. Well here I am 29 years old with very real stomach problems. I take no less than 4 stomach meds a day. One just to "turn" it on so it digests. I've asked my doctor why it hurts in the morning when someone wakes me up before my body and he says he thinks it is because I've been laying there all night and my stomach has been able to work all night. You see you digest best at rest. Hence why you have a real instinct to lay down, sit and rest etc after you eat. It helps you to digest faster and feel better. Well mine actually has the ability to do something over night.. and it throws that nasty bile in and stomach acid to the very fragile stomach lining I already have being further burned. So yes every morning it hurts. It truly hurts. If I'm allowed to wake on my own I'm fine. Things have worked themselves out and I don't wake till it has and the pain is gone. Why who knows.... But it's real.
So not everything in life is psychosomatic.
My daughter knows I have stomach problems and knows that mommy isn't always well. But she wakes up every morning during the school year too and her stomach hurts. Here's the catch I wake her up! So here I hold my breath that she has gastroparesis, or Crohn's disease or one of the few other diseases they have diagnosed me with. Really all the know Is I have an auto-immune disorder that effects my digestive tract and holds the traits of several of these other ailments. So they treat my symptoms.... but nothing treats waking me up in the morning.
I had stomach aches every morning before school because some kids were bothering me on the bus everyday. Once my Mom got to the bottom of that problem my stomach never hurt anymore unless I was sick.
