Beginning of a new phase of life

Hi
My little boy will soon be starting scool. Next week we go in for his registration and academics starts from April. When do you tell the school about the thal status? Is it necessary to tell the school at the time of registration or do you let them know later when the need arises. Just the thought that he would be spending a good 5 hours away from home with no family member around is driving me bonkers, but I know I will get used to this with time. As for Hassan he is really excited about the whole thing.

maha

Salam Maha,

Congrats for your little boy's new starting  don't worry he'll be fine Inshallah,about telling the school,when we registerd Z for school,there was a question in the registration form if your child had a medical condition or anything they should be careful about,and i obviously wrote about her thalassemia,so if i were you i would inform the school before hand,so that they'll know if anything goes wrong (God forbid),you know kids are kids ,sometimes they can get hurt while playing or during P.E,Its just a precaution,Z has been going to school since last six years and Alhumdulillah nothing has happened.

Hope this helps,:goodluck .

Zaini.

Hi Zaini
The registration form does not ask for details, but once the child is registered and starts going to school they do give a form to fill asking about any pre existing medical condition, allergies , immunisation etc..etc. but this is after almost a month. When we go in for registration we might not be alone, considering there are very few Indian schools the registeration queue is usually very long and everything is usually hurried with. But we could go and talk with the principal, but again does he have to know or only the teacher in charge needs to know.
Is it enough if I tell them he has a congenital condition called thalassemia because of which  he needs a blood tx every 4 weeks. ( sounds so simple).

maha

Wawwww how time flies, he was just a baby..... congratulations Maha,

Personally, i informed the P.E. teacher that if my son requested rest during the class, he must have it at once (since he is having a low HB) and that if by any chance he got hit in the stomach, they should let me know at once and call me by phone.

My point is that i wanted to inform people who may be in situation that has to do with thal (like PE teacher and actually she didn't know what is thal so i told her it is just a kind of anemia).

I think that informing other teachers will not have any benefit to me, on the contrary they might treat him differently or with extra caution which is something i don't want

Good luck Maha, and keep us informed how things will go 

manal

Hi Manal
This is exactly my dilemma. I don`t want Hassan to be treated with extra caution. Since we are expatriates here, and the schools have to work really hard to see that their license to operate is renewed without any hassles. If they feel that things could get serious if Hassan got hurt playing they might just not let Hassan play to avoid future complications. Moreover even if you tell someone about thal in detail theres still an element of doubt if they actually understood you.
When Hassan was diagnosed at the age of 1, he was not even standing leave aside walking or crawling. At that time a lot of people who were friends as well as those whom I had perhaps met someplace sometime were visiting us offering a lot of comfort, but the moment I was away from the hearing zone they would pity him, pity me and say things which was not very nice( only if they knew I had super sharp ears). But today the same people feel Hassan is cured and it was just a phase, when they see him bullying their kids. I feel its better this way cause the way they look at Hassan has changed completely.
Since in KG 1 the teacher in charge is always around the kids, she has to be informed. Sometimes I wish I was in Germany as the age to start school there is 7 and not 3 like India.

Maha

Hi
Other than getting hurt while playing, considering the probability of that is the same for all kids thal and non thal, and the school does have a good first aid system with a qualified nurse supervising is there anything else that I should watch out for? As a child I remember prolonged exposure in the sun usually made me feel faint. Considering my hb was always between 9.5-10 and Hassan is in that range probably only for a few days as he gets transfused when his hb is in the very same range. So he is probably in a better position than I was. Manal since you too live in the desert climate does the sun trouble Ahmed or affect his hb.

maha

Maha,

Though it is hot here too,but actually it is not as Saudi Arabia, but frankly i didn't moniter this much. Usually the break time in schools is early in the morning when the weather is not so hot and usually the school time is in winter  (temperature around15c- 20c in the morning)

There is one more thing i want you to remember which  is that having Hassan on regular transfusion makes him as any other kid. What applies to others will apply to him and his thal should be forgotten except in the day of transfusion.

Maha, i know that you are anxious because of having a new phase of life (school) but you are the same as all mothers in this stage and thal will not be adding to you any thiing more, i Can assure you of this my friend.

He will be just fine

Please feel free to discuss any other points

manal

  , Maha Sis !! .. ..   may ALLAH (GOD) bless him with long, healthy, wealthy sucesful n joyfull life full of life ... Ameen

Best Regards
Take Care
Umair

Thankyou Zaini ,Manal and Umair
We got with the registeration. School begins on April 6th. This school is quite small compared to the one my daughter attends, considering there are a just over 1000 pupils to the 17500 students in her school it seems only natural. The playground is covered, I don`t know if I am glad about it or not. The sun is kept away but also is fresh air :-\you cant have it all. We talked with the princy, he is a warm and friendly guy. So I suppose everything is just going to be fine. Actually there was a man in the office who actually spoke our mother tongue, I was very relieved after that since Hassan understands very little english, so if there is ever any problem atleast there would be a transalator .
maha

Congratulation,I wish a very happy life for you. I pray that you able to acquire the best level of life. My good wish always with you. Inshallah, Allah makes you always happy.

Thanks
Bappy



                                                     

ASSALAM U ALAIKUM WA REHMATULLAH MAHA

    I would share my experience of childhood. I felt very unprotected and cried out loud to mama plz dont leave me here in school. Then my mother made me to the class EVERY SINGLE DAY. Until the school principal said to my mother  " if you want ur child to stand on his feet to face the world,then u'll have o leave him alone". After somedays i was ok. no more crying. My parents from the first day told teachers about thal status so that extra attention b provided HOWEVER OVERPROTECTIONISM or maximum care should be taken not let the child feel that he's being treated differently. Thats wut my mama says to me whenever i fightt with her now ;)

walaikum assalam waleed
Thal or non thal, majority of the children will cry when they find themselves in a new environment. When my daughter started school she was holding a brave face until a little boy started to bawl and every single child followed suit. So crying is something expected and I do not worry about it. It is the unexpected problems I worry about. Alhumdulillah Hassan is a very friendly child, he doesn`t hang on to my dupatta (sometimes I wish he would so that I wouldn`t have to chase him around all the time, especially in public places). Some friends have offered to talk to the administration so as Hassan could get special care and I have refused them, for the very reason that he doesn`t feel any different from the others.
maha

thankyou bappy. May all your problems also solve soon. Inshallah

maha

just a personal opinion to let admin know of thal status .though caution to b made not to let the child feel bout it. you r the decision maker hehe wish u gudluck