On this week’s Parenting segment, one child is already playing the ‘sick card' because she doesn’t like her new schoolteacher. 

“My daughter recently started second class and since going back to school last week, she has come home every day upset because she doesn’t like her teacher,” the parent told Moncrieff. 

“I’ve asked her if he’d done something bad or if he was mean to her, and she keeps saying no that she just preferred her old teacher. 

“Already she’s started with the ‘I feel sick’ lines this week when I try to wake her up for school.” 

The parent said they can’t request the daughter change class and moving schools “seems dramatic”. 

“But the last week has been so distressing for her, that I don’t know what to do,” they said. 

'Period of adjustment'

Child psychotherapist Dr Joanna Fortune said returning to school is a “huge period of adjustment”. 

“There is all kinds of hiccups and hesitations and ‘Oh, it was better last year’ - that’s very common right throughout September and even into October,” she said. 

“I would give everyone four to six weeks to settle.” 

She said it’s “way too early” to consider changing schools and the parent should talk to their daughter about the new teacher. 

“It might be more pertinent to say, ‘What is it that you're finding difficult?’,” she said. 

“It could be he has a louder voice or the tone of his voice or he has different expectations, or it’s just that he’s different. 

“I think what [the daughter] is saying is that she really preferred the comfort and familiarity.” 

Main image shows children in a classroom. Image: Universal Images Group North America LLC / Alamy Stock Photo

At the very least, the daughter will come to “tolerate” the new teacher, which Joanna said is an important part of school. 

“They don't get to have their preferred teacher every year.” 

'Sick card'

When it comes to handling a child playing the ‘sick card’, Joanna said it’s important to stay “super calm”. 

“Say, ‘You don’t look unwell, you don’t have a temperature, and sometimes I think when we say we’re sick, we have an uh-oh feeling’,” Joanna said. 

“Bring her into that emotional language by getting curious about what shape the uh-oh feeling is, what colour it is, where would it live in your body. 

“Get her to go into it and articulate her feelings.” 

You can listen back here: