What would you do - children's tummy troubles?

[Jaimejac]

My daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease last year, so she has a legitimate reason for complaining of tummy aches. We went gluten-free as a family but unfortunately gluten still sneaks in somehow. I have typically allowed her to go lay down until it passes, but this can be disruptive if it happens during a block of school time. Would you still have your child do school in this instance? I have told her recently that she can still read her school books even if she is laying down.

Here's my dilemma though- her younger brother (age 7) complains of HIS tummy hurting a lot even though he has tested negative for celiac. This seemed to start when we went gluten-free. We've been to the doctor, treat him for constipation, etc. So my question isn't so much about what to do for him, but how much to entertain his complaints. I'm not always sure if his tummy really does hurt or if he just wants me to tell him to go lay down like his sister, thus getting out of chores or school. I don't want to NOT believe him, but I don't really know what else to do for him. And it does often seem like when he forgets about it, he is just fine. It has certainly not kept him from doing any FUN things. But I also don't want to him to feel like his complaints are ignored and he is not being taken care of if his tummy really DOES hurt.

I have started talking to them both about how many people have to learn how to still function in their day even when they don't feel good, and trying to use this as a teaching moment.

So I guess my question is how much would you make a child still do when they complain of chronic tummy aches with no good reason that I know of? Would you let them lay down? Would you still require a level of school and chores?

[Mgs]

.NA

[Jaimejac]

What do you do when they have tummy aches? Does it disrupt your day/schedule? Do you have them work through it?

[Mgs]

.NA

[Jaimejac]

Yes, we've done much of that in the past. I'm very familiar with the Low FODMAP diet. My daughter was diagnosed as fructose intolerant when she was 4 and was put on a Low FODMAP diet only to find out later she probably had a false positive and is now testing positive for celiac.

I'm mostly trying to figure out how to structure our day around these issues more than determining the cause of the tummy trouble itself.

[Mgs]

Oh ok got it. I have no idea. They were younger and I was determined to figure it out.
Mine all had obvious bowel issues & failure to thrive- so it was easy to tell there was a problem.

[Jaimejac]

I'm glad you got that all figured out. It's so hard when you don't know. My son is not so obvious. He is 7 but is the size of an average 8 yo despite the fact that he won't eat a fruit or a vegetable. He's in OT and feeding therapy for this. But his tummy issues didn't start until a year ago and so far his testing is not giving many answers, which is why I sometimes wonder if it really hurts or not and how to handle it when it doesn't seem to be affecting any other part of his life.