If you have a child with a serious medical condition

amother

OP ↓

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 7:27 pm

Do you tell the teachers about it at the beginning of the year?
My 6 year old daughter just started first grade and had a serious medical condition that is bh under control. It should hopefully not be relevant at any point in the school year. Is this something I should let her teachers know about at the beginning of the year just as a heads up, or there's no need. In the past I never mentioned it unless it was relevant (missing extended periods of time for hospitalization etc). I want the teachers to see her as a regular kid so I'm hesitant to share and not sure if it's information they would find helpful.

Welcome feedback from teachers and parents.

amother

Lily

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 7:35 pm

amother OP wrote:

There are pluses and minuses to both sides. I have a child with a medical condition. We always used to tell the teachers in advance as we felt it was necessary for his safety. But we found that the teachers gave him too much leeway. His condition made him sluggish, and he missed a lot of school, so they had to know but we found they expected less from him. Eventually we didn't tell the teachers, but we told the Menahel and administrator for his safety, and only spoke to the teachers a few weeks in after they got to know him. We couldn't do this when he was younger, but once he was old enough to know his own needs, this worked.

If it's something potentially serious, like a severe allergy, or something that affects a child in the classroom, like ADHD, it's important to inform the teachers. I'm saying this as a parent and as a teacher.

up high

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 7:39 pm

What if ch"v something unexpected happens in school? It's good that they are aware of it, just in case.
I did tell my sons rebbiem about his issue, even though it shouldn't effect him in any way randomly during the day, you never know.
I don't think it will effect the child on a negative way, if anything, they might feel more for this kid. Be more sensitive to him.

Last edited by up high on Sun, Sep 08 2024, 7:40 pm; edited 2 times in total

BusyBoys

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 7:39 pm

amother Aster wrote:

My inital response was yes, but If it is completely under control and does not effect her ability to be in school I wouldn't see the need to tell the teachers. I personally would make sure the school nurse/school knows and that is good enough.

I’ll second this.
As someone with a chronic medical condition myself, I didn’t need or want anyone who doesn’t need the info to know.
That said, safety first.
There should be someone at school- like pp mentioned- school nurse, principal that is aware of condition and will take charge should ch”v something occur.

amother

Indigo ↓

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 7:42 pm

Tell the senco or designated safety lead forsure.

Personally Id tell teachers aswel.

Im a preschool teacher and one of the kids once hurt their shoulder while I was taking them on climbing frame.
We called the mother and she casually mentioned that the child very often dislocates her shoulder, shel pick thwm up later on and get hatzolo to click into place.

Would have saved me a lot of aggravation and stress if I would have known this.

amother

Pewter

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:03 pm

amother Indigo wrote:

Poor kid! One of my kids dislocated her elbow frequently, I would pick her up immediately and run to the doctor. She was in so much pain each time.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:14 pm

So the school nurses know of course because they have her medical forms, but I'm pretty sure this information is not relayed down to the teachers or principal.

It's a cardiac related issue if that makes a difference, but it really should not come up at all this year. True the teachers may notices she's not as physically active as some other kids but there is always a range and she's still well within the normal range.

amother

↑ Wheat

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

Is she supposed to limit activity? If she joins a ball game by recess is she safe? Because if she needs to limit anything you should tell them. My kid has a minor heart issue didn’t need to be hospitalized and has no limitations so I don’t inform anyone. But if it was more serious I would.

amother

Junglegreen ↓

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:28 pm

In almost all situations, I'd think the answer to this is yes.

I have a child who had two surgeries as an infant for a condition that the doctors have assured me should not affect her now. She has a scar on her head that is only visible if her hair falls a certain way. I told the preschool director before the year started, told her she's welcome to tell her teachers.

I don't see what harm it could do. I could just imagine a teacher noticing it during lice checks, or if her ponytail falls out one day, and as careful with loshon hara as I'm sure the teachers are, maybe mentioning it with concern to another teacher or to the administrator. And then they would start wondering what else they don't know about her...I'd rather just be up-front from the beginning.

What if you child mentions something about her hospital visits? Or about her condition? And maybe another kid reacts in a hurtful or scared way about it? I'd want the teacher to know ahead of time so that she could help.

Then again, I'm open about my own ADHD. And about a certain phobia I had that was fixed through therapy. Neither of which are embarassing to me at all -- they're just part of who I am. So I tend to err on the side of oversharing rather than trying to keep things under wraps. As kids get older, I'd be a bit more careful before sharing...then it's more their decision about whether to share, not mine, unless there's reason I really think it's important to let someone know.

amother

↑ Junglegreen

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:30 pm

amother OP wrote:

If cv's there was an emergency, wouldn't you want her morah to have information to tell the EMTs or whoever would come? Even something that might happen to another kid, such as a child falls off playground equipment and blacks out, or gets dehydrated, or something. I'd want the people in charge of her safety to know about anything that might impact her treatment, and also to be able to let you know if they see anything that they think is concerning, that might be related to her condition.

amother

↑ Indigo

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:34 pm

amother Pewter wrote:

Poor kid! One of my kids dislocated her elbow frequently, I would pick her up immediately and run to the doctor. She was in so much pain each time.

Bh she wasnt in a lot of pain

The mother obviously knew it wasnt so bad and child wasnt screaming, but I felt awful all this time

I thought It was me that had caused it.

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 8:46 pm

Thanks. Seems like the best approach is to let them know. This is not about privacy or anything like that, there are lots of people who know about her condition. I just don't want her to be treated differently, for good or for bad, because of it. But I agree for her safety it is probably best that the teachers know.