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It's not a huge secret that children sometimes choose to fake illnesses to get out of going to school, but often they can be spotted. The following instructions are especially relevant to children or teen fakers.



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    Look for lingering symptoms. If someone has been "ill," you would expect them to still have residual symptoms when they return to school/work. If you are a parent and not a teacher, check for this in the morning. Usually if they have a cold, they aren't likely to have cured completely in the morning.
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    Check their homework. A child or teen who has missed school due to a real illness will have done homework that was due in on the day they missed, and may be keen to hand in their homework at the first opportunity, to prove they weren't faking. So if someone returns from an "illness" still not having completed homework, they were most likely faking it. Keep in mind that if a child was not faking, it's possible they were truly not feeling well enough to do their homework. Or if you're a parent make sure to check for that in the morning.
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    Retain old letters or sick notes. Compare the handwriting from repeat offenders. If necessary, present the notes to parents at parents' evenings to check that they are genuine.
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    Keep a list of the excuses used. The more funerals, illnesses, and other catastrophes a person uses as excuses, the more likely it is that they are faking - however, be sensitive in confrontation just in case they aren't. You don't want to destroy any bond they could've attached to you.
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    Call them up during school/work. Talk to them like a stranger, somebody who wouldn't have any reason to scrutinize a bad "clogged nose." Call up during school/work, midday, as someone with a wrong number or a solicitor.
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    Confront. When you are certain that someone is a faker, don't be afraid to say "I don't believe you" when they concoct yet another story.
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    Check the temperature. If you are a parent and you give your child a thermometer to check his/her temperature, make sure you keep an eye on them because they may try to breathe hot air onto the thermometer, stick it in a lamp, stick it in a light, heater or warm water. You will know they faked it if it's 110 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) or more.
    • Also feel their forehead and then feel yours. If theirs is warmer, then they are probably not faking. If they claim they feel cold, than they should be some degrees hotter than usual. Check their arm. If they have goose bumps and it is not cold in the house, than it is probably real.
    • Also, if they give you something that is 101 degrees or above, try the test again, only this time hold it against a lamp. If it shows up genuinely close, it is probably a fake, but don't judge too soon.


  • Children sometimes do need a break from the hard work teachers give them.
  • Children do often feel overwhelmed at school. They may need a break.
  • If you do catch them in the act, don't be hard on them. This might make it worse and they might try faking illness again.
  • Adults are much harder to catch than children, and generally, if an adult student claims to be sick, you'll have to take their word for it.
  • If you do decide to let them miss school, try to make sure it does not become a habit for them.
  • If someone needs a break, make sure it isn't on an important day.
  • Keep an eye on them most of the day to see if they have gotten better.
  • Children often fake being sick on the days they have tests, gym class, or anything else they dislike. So, when they say they are sick, ask what they think they are doing in school that day.
  • Check their temperature and try to give them medicine. If they decline it continuously, they might be faking.
  • If your child has a computer, an iPad or anything that you can go on the Internet with, check their history. If you see something about how to fake sick then they are faking.
  • Keep in mind that if your child is actually sick and you send them to school anyway, then other children might become sick as well.
  • Don't let them run off with the thermometer! Keep a eye on it! They'll probably make sure you think that it is very warm.
  • Many children take tums and cough drops without being sick. If they say yes to cough drops but no to allergy medicine or Tylenol they might be faking.
  • If someone keeps saying that they threw up, ask to see it. If they put fake throw up in the bathroom, check to see if it is really something that they ate.


  • Before saying that you don't believe them, don't find out too quickly, whether they're faking it or genuinely ill, it might upset them that you don't trust them, and they would think you are a bad parent.
  • Normally when kids want to fake sick it's normally for a good reason, so when they do you should tell them you know and calmly ask them what is wrong, but never get angry with them. Make them feel like you trust them and their judgment of whether they are actually sick or not. Warning, they may not always be truthful in this process.
  • Some people are exceedingly unlucky and may have a series of catastrophes happen to them. If you question the integrity of someone who really has had genuine reasons, you may burn a bridge.

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