4 year old says his tummy hurts all day long

[Anonymous]

If my kid complains about something twice I believe him and take him to doctor, I’m too anxious not to. I would trust him kids don’t just say this stuff repeatedly for a week for fun. Something is going on help him out. If you had tummy troubles for a week you’d be having tests done.

[Anonymous]

Still go to gastro doc though

[Anonymous]

The most frequent cause of problems like this is gas that expands faster than their body copes. There are a number of anti-gas OTC medications. Just go to the children's aisle of the pharmacy and try one. Then next time he gets those symptoms, try a gas treatment and see if it resolves. Most of them work in minutes.

[Anonymous]

Have you tracked hos food and activities?Find a trigger- is it happening after eating too much greasy food? Gassy food? Is it happening after he's been hot, sweating, and super active? Feeding off you (or Dh's) anxiety that might pique throughout the day or any given week?

Is it upper stomach like an heartburn or acid reflux? Or lower belly button area?

So, have you tried anything like a Tums? Our go-to is ginger ale for tummy aches, but I think it's more psychological for the kids than any real ginger remedy, but YMMV.

[Anonymous]

If he said he was hungry, it seems logical to try giving him food and see if that fixes it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he said he was hungry, it seems logical to try giving him food and see if that fixes it.

Yes, sometimes I do that. When he comes out of his room at 8:30 pm saying that, I'm less sympathetic.

In those instances, I feel like it's just something he's doing for attention.

[Anonymous]

My dh went for about 4 months this past year where she spoke a lot about her tummy hurting. It cleared up on its on and she hasn’t mentioned anything about tummy aches in a few months now.

I had the same train of thought - wondering if something was really wrong, if I should take her to see a doctor etc... but she behaved normally, was energetic, ate well etc... I think what helped at one point was she and I had a conversation where I explained to her that there are many different feelings that can happen in your tummy area. Your tummy can have the feeling of being hungry, getting full, needing to poop etc... and that it is important to notice if it is one of these things. That seemed to click for her.

Anyway my point is yes, we had this experience and yes it passed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dh went for about 4 months this past year where she spoke a lot about her tummy hurting. It cleared up on its on and she hasn’t mentioned anything about tummy aches in a few months now.

I had the same train of thought - wondering if something was really wrong, if I should take her to see a doctor etc... but she behaved normally, was energetic, ate well etc... I think what helped at one point was she and I had a conversation where I explained to her that there are many different feelings that can happen in your tummy area. Your tummy can have the feeling of being hungry, getting full, needing to poop etc... and that it is important to notice if it is one of these things. That seemed to click for her.

Anyway my point is yes, we had this experience and yes it passed.

And to add - our dh is also 4. I also wondered if it was for attention but ultimately I think she was having sensations in her gut and was struggling to identify what she needed and/or it was causing some anxiety for her. I think reassurance is a healthy response - like let me know if there is something your tummy needs etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he says he has hungry tummy, and then he eats, does it go away?

I don't usually follow up tbh. I don't want to pay a lot of attention to it and make it a "thing"

If it's been going on for two weeks, it's a thing. It's not going to go away because you have decided to ignore it. This strategy works for an hour, tops.

[Anonymous]

As a child I would complain my tummy hurt often and it freaked out my parents. I was just hungry but too shy to ask for food (and they fed me, I was just being a weird kid!). Because sometimes when I said it my dad would give me a snack I figured I should keep saying it and it might work to get another snack sometimes. I was about five years old and can still remember my thought process and weird kid logic. If he’s not acting distressed, I’d take vague tummy complaints with a grain of salt.

This also reminds me of another post about a child complaining their tummy hurt and the kid meant their clothes or whatever had actually scratched their skin on their stomach…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:strep throat.

+1 My kids never said they had a sore throat, it was always a stomachache

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he says he has hungry tummy, and then he eats, does it go away?

I don't usually follow up tbh. I don't want to pay a lot of attention to it and make it a "thing"

If it's been going on for two weeks, it's a thing. It's not going to go away because you have decided to ignore it. This strategy works for an hour, tops.

She says it isn’t constant. Calm down.

I took my four year old to the ped for this and it was a waste of time and money. She checked him over with a basic physical exam and that was it. Sounds similar. You can take him in, but it isnt terrible not to.

[Anonymous]

When I was little my "stomach hurt" when I was anxious. It might be the change in routine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:strep throat.

+1 My kids never said they had a sore throat, it was always a stomachache

Strep throat can show us as only a stomach ache. I have 4 kids and one of them always had a stomach ache but not a sore throat with strep. Unfortunately we got lots of practice with Strep. It took a few years, and LOTS of positive cases, for us to put together the clues and figure out that the youngest was a strep carrier. So if your child has had any known contact with a strep positive kid it is worth checking out.

[Anonymous]

Mine went through this over the last year too. Ages 4-5. It lasted for months, but she only commented occasionally. There was no physical cause, so I think it was pandemic anxiety. Could be the change in routine after a year of constant changing routines.