No promises!: My little worry wart

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

My little worry wart

So Cam is having some stress issues at school. He insists that he loves his teacher, which I believe. He insists that he's doing fine behavior-wise, which I also believe-I've seen his citizenship report. He has plenty of friends there AND at after-school care. I'm afraid he has a taste of my "worst case scenario" thinking AND a taste of my nervous stomach.

On school nights, his bedtime is 8. At 7:30 he decides whether he'll keep playing for 15 minutes with 15 minutes of story time (the adult reads to him-he has 20 minutes of required reading that he does when he gets home) or if he wants to go to bed and watch TV for 30 minutes. Two nights ago he chose TV...the sleep timer was programmed to go off at 8. At 9 he comes out complaining that he doesn't feel well. Same thing at 9:30. TJ bundles him off to bed again, reads a short bedtime story, and he finally falls asleep around 10. Just guess who was a grumpy butthead the next morning?

Last night, he chose TV again. Once again, at 9 he came out, complaining of a stomach ache. He was a little green around the gills. I sent him back to his room, we rearranged his bed, turned on the fan, and I read a little bit to him. I fished out the other half to my "blankie" (which is really a sheet, but that's beside the point) and gave that to Cam. He has his blankets scrunched down in the crack between his bed frame (he has a bunk bed) and the mattress, filling the gap so he can't see down (...or is it so nothing can see UP?) through it. Well, having the other half of MY blankie was the magic touch last night, and he drifted off pretty quick.

This morning, he got up really well-no grumbling or anything. He got ready at his usual "if I were going any slower I'd be moving backwards" speed, and we were out the door. By the time I dropped him off at the bus, his eyes were shiny. He walked to the bus, then turned around real quick and was trying REALLY hard not to cry to ask what I'd said (I hadn't said anything). He blew me a kiss and climbed on the bus.

Barb called later (my MIL and his bus driver, conveniently) to say that he was in tears by the time he got to school. He just kept saying that his stomach hurt. She walked him to class, and had a word with his teacher. She pulled him to the side to talk to him, and asked him what was up. She said that she figured he was fine, and that he was just nervous. She told him he was doing fine and there was nothing for him to worry about...calm down and chill out, and everything will be fine. He was still a little teary-eyed and SHE ended up a little teary-eyed...it turns out that a close friend passed away the day before, so she was a little upset herself. She said he hugged her a little and made HER feel better. She's decided that once school is out she will have to take him home with her. TJ and I both agree that she'll bring him back pretty quick, too.

So...anyone have any ideas for de-stressing a 7 year old? I don't want him to be the only kid in 2nd grade with an ulcer. So far we've eliminated TV from the before-bed routine, as well as Xbox. It gets him really, REALLY wound up. So tonight he hung out with us at the table (he was drawing an owl) and watched TV a little. He took his bath, and then we went to his room to read for a while. He wanted music (I think he was stalling) so I turned on the Media Player on his computer to a new age station and left. He has the fan on, the music on, and the other half of the all-powerful blankie. I just checked on him and he's snoring. Shoo! I'm still open to any pointers anyone may have. Well, besides "Give that boy a little brother or sister!" Um, no. :)

posted by Jen @ 10:11 PM

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