3 Yr Old Always Says He Hurts

Hi M.,

I had a similar experience with our daughter when she was 4. She would complain of stomach and side pain. Her ped thought it was allergies, allergic colitis and acid reflux. I kept a food and pain journal and eliminated foods from her diet. Which eventually led to a referral for at GI specialist. It was a long and stressful road.

While waiting for the GI appointment, we found relief when I took her to a certified nutritionist who specializes in homeopathy and electrol dermal screening. Her belly and side pain were caused by a dairy intolerance and the underlying issue was due to parasites. We used a nutritional supplement to gently cleanse her body and within 4 days she wasn't complaining of pain.

Parasites are common in children and adults....I'm not saying your son has them, I'm just sharing our story so you can explore this if the unexplained pain continues. We always offered lots of TLC and had her use the bathroom to see if those helped.

J.

my daughter does this alot but i have found that she picked it up from me. I have a terrible back so i often tell my husband when my back hurts. pay close attention maybe someone at school or even you are saying it. hope this helps!

M.
When my kids would do this, I would mention needing to go to the Dr to have things checked out. Usually their reaction told me how truthful they were being:) However, I would say to air on the side of caution and go ahead and have things checked out, but ask him very specific questions about the pain. Where exactly it hurts? how bad does it hurt? Try to see if there is a pattern to when it hurts? Is it possible he has an infection? I know it is hard as he is only 3...but my guess is something must be bothering him. I would personally feel better going to the dr and having them say it is nothing than waiting and finding out its something bad you know? Let us know how it works out.

J.
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You left us with a lot of questions... Is he constipated? Is he having a growth spurt? Does it happen the same time each day or while doing the same activity? It doesn't really sound as if he's just trying to get attention if he goes back to whatever he was doing (elsewise he'd play it up for some cuddles and other attention, right?)

Stop him next time and ask him to point to any place it hurts. Then find out if it's more of a skin, muscle, or organ pain (if indeed there IS pain). This should help at least a little!

My 3 year old daughter does the same thing sometimes, saying her belly hurts. She'll be playing or running around and stop all of a sudden, keel over and say her belly hurts. Sometimes she's up and running within a few seconds, other times it lasts a little longer. I thought maybe it was something in her diet, so I asked her pediatrician and he said that it could very well be her diet. Try monitoring the foods he eats and see if you notice a pattern of certain foods causing belly issues. I would definitely consult his doctor if it persists, gets worse, or happens a lot, especially since he's also complaining about his back and sides.

I'd take him to the dr. Hopefully he's just playing...but kids are ALOT more resilient than we know. My daughter broke her foot and didn't complain once about it. She was on it almost 3 weeks before I brought her to the dr (mind you she was running around, playing, etc. The only thing was she limped sometimes). It could be a urinary tract infection if he's saying all those things hurt. I would take him in just to get checked out. You'd hate for it to really be something and you ignore it. Good luck!

Our 3 year old has learned that he gets to stay home if he says he's not feeling well. We went through a spell last year where he was telling us that his armpits hurt - we found a few swollen lymph nodes (I completely panicked as I'd just been treated for Hodgkins lymphoma).

But, I would definitely call the pediatrician and have it checked out to be safe. I don't want to even speculate as to what may cause those areas to hurt, but for peace of mind, that would be my recommendation.

Good luck!

I would get it checked out. Be sure to take note his general health .... Is he more tired than normal lately? Does he have a rash or any bruising? Has he had any fevers? How is his appetite? Etc.

I agree with Jen. It is better to get it checked out then worry about it. Let the doc check it out and if it is not real and just for attention your son may realize that when he says he has pain he has to see the doc. That may be a deterrent in itself. Good luck I am sure he will be fine.