THEY'RE DRUGGING MY CHILD???!! Oh, no .. it's okay. False Alarm.

Four year old Tallen told a WHOPPA last night. Little tyke. On a serious and, very sadly for some, very real subject. It both amazed me, and made me giggle, how far as parents we had to take it to ensure we got to the truth of the matter.

Tallen's been poorly of late, there's a bug going around at school that seems to have hit him twice now. Lots of coughing and snot (always a joy) and he's not been sleeping well for a couple of nights bless him.

So it wasn't too surprising then that yesterday, for the second day in a row, the little chap came home from school looking way tired, like he was ready to drop. But he's still young enough to need a nap in the afternoon, he's poorly. I wasn't unduly concerned until Hubby commented on it.

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Hubby: "He looks drugged. Have you seen his eyes?"
Me: "I know! He looks exhausted shame, all bloodshot"

Hubby's still looking concerned.

Hubby: "You think they've given him something at school? To calm him down? That's the second day he's come home from school with eyes like that. It happens, you hear about it" (boys always want a conspiracy, so funny)
Me: "You mean like they've given him some medicine to dope him because he was being hectic at school or something and they couldn't handle it? But he's a good boy at school, only we experience the full Tallen Tantrum"


Tallen walks in the room.
Hubby: "Let's ask him. Tallen? Do they ever give you meds at school?" (Objection! That's a leading question your Honour, surely)
T: (suddenly centre of attention) "..er, .. yes. They do give us meds at school"
Me: "Tallen, tell the truth. This is important"
T: "They do!"
Hubby: "What kind of meds?"
T: "Cough meds"
Hubby: "What does it look like?"
T: (now starting to squirm and get bored) "It's yellow"
Hubby: "And who gives it to you?"
T: "My teacher"

Tallen runs off to do something else, and Hubby leans back in his chair, arms folded, and raises an eyebrow at me. The words "you see?" hung in the air as if he'd said them.

Hubby: "If he hadn't named his teacher, I would have said he was lying"
Me: "You believe him?"
Hubby: (shrugs) "We don't know, but it happens. He doesn't just look tired, his eyes are pink. And I saw crusty bits at the corner of his mouth when I picked him up, what does that mean?"
Me: "I dunno, shall we Google it? I mean, we don't know if he's telling the truth but if he is it's really serious. They can't give him meds at school. He could be allergic, we may be giving him something at home. They could overdose him. And they haven't asked us. I mean, it could be a tonic. Vitamins or something because of bugs going around. But they can't just give him something without talking to us first"
Hubby: "I know"
Me: "What would they be giving him?"
Hubby: "Just a dose of kids pain relief also calms him down, we know that. I dunno"
Me: "He can be a handful (my family reading are smiling at 'handful') and they do struggle to get him to lie down and chill at nap time. Jeez! I'll ask him again later, at bedtime when it's all quiet."
Hubby: "Okay"

Later at bedtime ...

"I could get my teacher fired? Hmmm .... "

Me: "Tallen? We need to talk about these meds you had at school, it could be very serious"
T: "Why?"
Me: "Because the school aren't allowed to give you meds, it's very naughty. Your teacher could be in lots of trouble, maybe lose her job and not be allowed to be a teacher anymore. I'm going to ask you again and it's very important you tell me the truth. Do they give you meds at school Tallen?"
T: "Yes"
Me: "When? Every day?"
T: "Yes, every day before class in the morning"
Me: "And your teacher gives it to all of you?"
T: "Yes"
Me: "And what do they say it is?"
T: "They say it's grown up meds"

There was something about the way he emphasised 'grown up meds', all lowered tone, like he was trying to make his story more exciting and he expected me to respond with an "Oooooo". I decided to lay it on a bit thicker.

Me: "Tallen, nobody will be cross if you've been fibbing but it is very important that you tell me the truth. The police would tell your teacher off, they'd have to talk to you"
T: (suddenly more attentive) "Why would the police have to talk to me?"
Me: "They have to check with you what you told us, and write it all down and then they'd have to talk to your teacher. She could be in trouble hey? I wonder what your new teacher would be like? Nice I hope, not like the one you don't like at the school who blows a whistle. Shame if you're new teacher was like her.

Tallen now turns and buries his face in the pillow, bum in the air.

Me: "Maybe they'll close the school! Oh no, that would be a shame. I hope we can find you a nice new one, you like your school hey?"
T: (muffled, still face in pillow) "Mummy, I feel sad"

Tallen sometimes says he feels sad when he means he feels embarressed or ashamed, he's still fine tuning his feelings.

Me: "It'll be alright, don't feel sad. We don't want this to be happening to you so we're glad you told us the truth, it's so important. You did the right thing telling us, well done."
T: "I feel sad because I was lying"
Me: "You told a fib? They really DON'T give you meds at school?"
T: (still in pillow) "No"
Me: "I see. Well done for telling the truth now. That was close hey? I nearly rang the police there"

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It's passed bedtime now so I decide to leave it at that, his little red face on the pillow is shooting me guilty glances so I just smile, read him 'Mr Cheerful' and sing him a couple of songs to help him chill, as is the bedtime routine in our house. I leave him staring at the ceiling and as I walk out of the room in to the lounge I update Hubby, sat at the pc;

Me: "He didn't get given meds at school"
Hubby: (without looking up) "Cool"

** I should add, Tallens school is brilliant and his teacher is so good with him and all her kids. They have a policy on this, like all good schools, and they wouldn't give any medicine to any of their children, even if you asked them to. Just saying.