My Daughter Is Saying Her Tummy Hurts More Often lately...can Anyone Help Me?

My three year old and two year old boys BOTH pretend to get injured for the attention. An example: Kid #1 bumps the elbow and crys for the "boo boo pack" (Ice pack) kid #2 runs up holding HIS elbow and wants the boo boo pack from kid #1 even though he doesn't have a "real" boo boo. I also catch them independantly faking injury when they think we're not looking...probably because they know that an injury means getting scooped up, cuddled, and basically pampered with one-on-one time (hard to find with two toddlers!). And they are QUITE convincing! I wouldn't know it was an act if I didn't catch them once in a while.

Do everything you can to make sure there isn't a health problem, but maybe also try starting some special moments to emphasise healthiness so the special attention she gets when she has a tummy ache is focused differently? Like have a little dance and a special song or something when her tummy STOPS hurting? If the tummy aches start getting shorter in duration (so she can get to the song faster), it'll be very telling :) Good luck!

Hi, C.!

My son just turned 3 and I noticed recently that he has been telling me he is tired more often. Because of his health issues, I was sure to mention it to his oncologist last week. There dosn't seem to be any reason medically for him to be tired (his blood counts are good, etc) so we are thinking it is due to the hot weather and his activity level OR a way to get attention. It is possible your daughter is being a typical three-year-old and trying to see how she can get your attention.

That being said, if she continues to complain I would suggest taking her to the doctor. I know the tests can be scary and stressful, but sometimes small, recurring pains are an indicator of conditions that need immediate medical attention.

Hi Cherly,
My daughter has almost the exact same stats as your child. A few months ago she was making the same complaints. Is she overly hungary or overeating when she is hurting? My daughter would often be one or the other and to have her eat a little healthy snack, or to teach her that feeling ment that she was full seemed to help. I know that sounds like a simple solution to what could be a worse problem, but for my daughter she just needed help interperting what she was feeling. I hope that it is something that simple for your daughter.

my daughter is also petite - she'll be 4 next month and she's about 38.5 in but only 30 pounds. she's never had any official stomach issues, but at some point she learned that if she didn't want to eat anymore food, she should say her tummy hurts. we've never pushed for the kids to finish plates or anything so i'm not sure what it's about. but when we ask if she's full, she says yes. sometimes i wonder if she just doesn't understand the different feelings. we repeatedly tell her that she can just say she is full and doesn't want anymore, but she hasn't caught on. we try to explain that if her tummy hurts it is different and we need to know so we can help her, but she doesn't get it yet. maybe your daughter's trying to tell you something else about her tummy?