Thursday, July 09, 2009

Schooling dilemmas

Coughing and sneezing, we make the ideal team for a cold concert at home. The virus that caught us on our way back to Chennai last month doesnt seem to have any intention of leaving us anytime soon.
Yesterday, we prepared to take Ash to school but turned back at the first red signal - not only were we likely to reach before the bell, but Ash was sneezing and itching that V thought he wasnt ready to go to school.
Today, we met the school principal after dropping Ash in school. She asked us if we want him to take a break from school. But that is not an option we are keen on. Atopic dermatitis could run into adolescence and we cant afford a break till he is completely free of eczema. We are hoping the present line of treatment would cure the affliction in a year or two (a few acquaintances tell me that they know cases where ayurveda helped to cure eczema almost completely in 2 years' time).
The principal then called up a friend whose relative has eczema. The kid is 11 and still has it despite many treatments, so not sending to school is not an option. It turns out to be my colleague George's son.
Homeschooling is not very popular here. And getting Ash to sit for 10 minutes to study is not easy with distractions like the TV and bicycle. But he loves to learn - not by rote but from encyclopaedias, by constant queries and by observing.
Absenteeism is not a problem in Ash's case, the principal told us. We leave in that consolation - not that we plan to make absenteeism a habit.
p.s. Ash returns happy from school. The teacher seems to have given him play dough during playtime, so that he neednt go out and play in the mud. He tells me he made a candy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

play dough so far as i know is made here with maida, water, some cases oil..
I avoid that for my kids.. to mininum.. allergy to wheat.
put cream or what ever he is ok to.
take care
ust

Anonymous said...

Have you tried giving Ash an oatmeal bath? Just buy oats from the pharmacy or grocery store and make with hot water, just like you would with cereal. I read from a woman that when her daughter's eczema acted up, the oatmeal bath made it subside right away. Also, I put Vitamin E on some bumps I had on my leg, and they went away surprisingly fast...and the pain went with it. The Vitamin E can come in a stick (like lipstick) here, and it is like a thick cream or oil...but it doesn't have chemicals; it's just pure vitamin E. Those two things you might want to try! :)
Here in the US we have tubs in every washroom, so you can use a big bucket or something large enough to give Ash a bath in. Let me know how it works! Love Jen

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