Sick or Just Needing a Social Break?

So, today was the first time Pumpkin acted like he was sick so he wouldn't have to go to school.  I do want to give him the benefit of the doubt and he did have a small cough.  My husband and I suspected it might be something else so we talked to him about "sick days" and that he could only have so many.  If he used one today then he might have to go to school on a day where he was even more sick because he is using his day today.  He still was quite adamant about not feeling well.

      {Just a side note...I used this a few times when I was a kid - I'm pretty sure we all faked the sick -
       anyways, I knew my mom knew the truth but she never questioned me about it.  She was always
       supportive and let me stay home "sick".  I was always so thankful for those days - there were only a
       few!}

So, we let him make a very grown-up decision to use one of his sick days to help his cough.  Then he started telling us that some of his friends don't want to play with him at recess.  He goes on to tell us that some friends like to run and play tag but he doesn't like to do that (ADD kids sometimes don't do well with contact sports), some kids play with legos but when he asks to play with them, they say no.  This just broke my heart!  I know there are probably many aspects and reasons for poor Pumpkin to not have many friends.  In fact, I don't want him to have tons of friends, I just want him to have one good friend who is like him - a good friend, funny, sweet, creative, and just fun to be around.  Children with ADD/ADHD often have problems with social skills for various reasons.  Many times they don't do well with competition and big group settings.  Sometimes they don't perceive things the way they should and take things too literally or personally.  Sometimes they are bullied which causes more anxiety and more stress than they already have.

There are things parents can do to help their kids have friends.  ADDitude Magazine has some great articles that can be found here.  They also have a lot of other resources that can help parents manage social interactions with their kiddos.

Well, as you can see, the kids are enjoying a good movie, still in their jammies, and eating popcorn.  Let's hope he wants to go back to school tomorrow! :)