Terms of UseHow to Stay Home from School Without Being Sick Explore this Article methods 1 Faking Sick 2 Coming Up with an Excuse Other Sections Related Articles References Co-authored by wikiHow Staff
Last Updated: March 12, 2023
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This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 21,626 times.
It can be tough to go to school every day. Sometimes, you just want to stay home and rest, but it can be tough to skip school unless you’re sick and infectious. Often times, you might have to attend school even if you’re not feeling your best. However, there are a couple of ways to avoid going to school, including faking sick, taking a mental health day, or losing something important that you can’t go to school without.
Steps
Method 1 Method 1 of 2:
Faking Sick
1 Run a fake fever by eating or drinking something warm. Have soup or tea right before your parents take your temperature. Make sure to keep the liquid in your mouth for about 5 seconds before swallowing. If you want to take this 1 step further, keep some of that warm liquid under your tongue so that it comes into contact with the thermometer as you’re getting your temperature taken.
Don’t make the soup or drink too hot or you’ll burn your mouth.
Tip: Only do this until you feel some symptoms coming on. The goal is to fake being sick, not to actually get sick. If you overdo it, you could end up falling sick.
2 Work up a fake cough by drinking cold beverages. In the days leading up to the one you want to skip, drink as many cold beverages as you can, including water, soda, and iced tea. Be sure to do this after exercising because the body is all warmed up. This will lead to a sore throat and hoarseness, which makes it easier to act out a cough. As you’re speaking with your parents and telling them you’re sick, make your voice hoarse and raspy to convince them you have a cough.
If you want to work on your acting skills, pretend like you’re coughing heavily in front of your parents. This way, you don’t risk bringing any actual harm upon yourself.
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3 Fake a headache to avoid going to school. Faking a headache is one of the easier ways to fake sick because it’s so difficult to track whether or not a person actually has a headache. Squeeze your head with your hands in front of your parents and look down while doing so. Close your eyes when you do this to make the headache seem more real.
You can also fake sensitivity to light by reacting in pain when someone opens a curtain or turns on a lamp. Make sure to go to sleep early and don’t be active.
4 Start gagging to make it seem like you’re nauseous. Short of throwing up, gagging is a great way to convince someone that you’re not feeling well. Begin dry heaving in front of your parents and then quickly run into the bathroom and lock the door. At that point, start making it sound like you’re throwing up into the toilet and flush the toilet afterwards.
Wait 5-10 minutes after you’ve faked throwing up to make it seem like you’re recovering. Then, open the door and let your parents know you need to miss school.
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Method 2 Method 2 of 2:
Coming Up with an Excuse
1 Hide your books intentionally to force your parents to look for them. Take a few books you need for class and hide them in an obscure location of your home. Go up to your parents and act panicky and make them help you find your books. The more time it takes them to find the books, the more school you’ll miss.
If your parents don't end up finding your books, they might let you skip a day so you're prepared for class.
2 Miss the bus by taking a long time to get ready for school. Get out of bed a few minutes later than you normally would, brush your teeth for longer than usual, and eat your breakfast slower than you ordinarily do. All of this extra time will add up and could lead to you missing school by being too late.
Your parents might drive you to school if you miss the bus, but at least you'll still miss some school. Or, if your parents are running late themselves, they might just let you take the day off.
3 Pretend not to finish a big assignment due in school that day. Another good excuse is to act like you haven’t finished a big assignment that’s due in class soon. Tell your parents that you need more time to work on it and can’t go to school while it's incomplete. See if they’ll let you stay home and work on it instead of going to class empty-handed.
Make sure your work eventually gets finished. You’ll have to turn it in at some point!
4 Tell your parents that the teacher won’t be in that day. Try and convince your parents that because your teacher is sick or not in school that day, you don’t need to go. Tell your parents that there’s no homework assignment or new lesson for that class. Let your folks know that it would be better for you to stay at home and study previous lessons from earlier classes.
Don’t do this if your parents know your teacher personally.
5 Talk to your parents about staying home if you’re being bullied. Bullying is a huge problem in schools around the world and it can be almost impossible for some children to go to school without facing bullying. Talk with your parents about what’s happening at school every day and explain to them why you’d like to skip 1 day. Your parents can tell your school that you are being bullied and let them know that you won’t be able to return until the problem is solved.[1]XResearch source
If this happens, email your teachers and let them know the situation. They will provide you with the school work they need to complete to make up for the days they miss.
Tip: Provide the school with specific details and names of kids who have bullied you. While you stay at home, the school can take disciplinary action and help resolve the situation.
6 Ask your parents if you can take a mental health day. If you wake up feeling exhausted and don’t think you can be productive, ask your parents if you can spend 1 day at home recovering mentally. If you’re stressed, sad, irritated, or even just overwhelmed, ask to stay home and spend the day relaxing and getting yourself back into a good frame of mind. Make sure you contact your teachers to get the school work you’ll miss.[2]XResearch source
Do not violate this by asking for multiple mental health days over a short period of time. If you actually feel like your mental health isn’t where it needs to be, see a doctor immediately.
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Co-authored by: wikiHow Staff wikiHow Staff Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 21,626 times. 127 votes - 58% Co-authors: 4Updated: March 12, 2023 Views: 21,626
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Co-authored by: wikiHow Staff wikiHow Staff Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 21,626 times. 127 votes - 58% Co-authors: 4 Updated: March 12, 2023 Views: 21,626 
wikiHow Newsletter You're all set! Helpful how-tos delivered toyour inbox every week! Sign me up! By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. 
405 
1 Run a fake fever by eating or drinking something warm. Have soup or tea right before your parents take your temperature. Make sure to keep the liquid in your mouth for about 5 seconds before swallowing. If you want to take this 1 step further, keep some of that warm liquid under your tongue so that it comes into contact with the thermometer as you’re getting your temperature taken. 
2 Work up a fake cough by drinking cold beverages. In the days leading up to the one you want to skip, drink as many cold beverages as you can, including water, soda, and iced tea. Be sure to do this after exercising because the body is all warmed up. This will lead to a sore throat and hoarseness, which makes it easier to act out a cough. As you’re speaking with your parents and telling them you’re sick, make your voice hoarse and raspy to convince them you have a cough. 
3 Fake a headache to avoid going to school. Faking a headache is one of the easier ways to fake sick because it’s so difficult to track whether or not a person actually has a headache. Squeeze your head with your hands in front of your parents and look down while doing so. Close your eyes when you do this to make the headache seem more real. 
4 Start gagging to make it seem like you’re nauseous. Short of throwing up, gagging is a great way to convince someone that you’re not feeling well. Begin dry heaving in front of your parents and then quickly run into the bathroom and lock the door. At that point, start making it sound like you’re throwing up into the toilet and flush the toilet afterwards. 
1 Hide your books intentionally to force your parents to look for them. Take a few books you need for class and hide them in an obscure location of your home. Go up to your parents and act panicky and make them help you find your books. The more time it takes them to find the books, the more school you’ll miss. 
2 Miss the bus by taking a long time to get ready for school. Get out of bed a few minutes later than you normally would, brush your teeth for longer than usual, and eat your breakfast slower than you ordinarily do. All of this extra time will add up and could lead to you missing school by being too late. 
3 Pretend not to finish a big assignment due in school that day. Another good excuse is to act like you haven’t finished a big assignment that’s due in class soon. Tell your parents that you need more time to work on it and can’t go to school while it's incomplete. See if they’ll let you stay home and work on it instead of going to class empty-handed. 
4 Tell your parents that the teacher won’t be in that day. Try and convince your parents that because your teacher is sick or not in school that day, you don’t need to go. Tell your parents that there’s no homework assignment or new lesson for that class. Let your folks know that it would be better for you to stay at home and study previous lessons from earlier classes. 
5 Talk to your parents about staying home if you’re being bullied. Bullying is a huge problem in schools around the world and it can be almost impossible for some children to go to school without facing bullying. Talk with your parents about what’s happening at school every day and explain to them why you’d like to skip 1 day. Your parents can tell your school that you are being bullied and let them know that you won’t be able to return until the problem is solved.[1] 
6 Ask your parents if you can take a mental health day. If you wake up feeling exhausted and don’t think you can be productive, ask your parents if you can spend 1 day at home recovering mentally. If you’re stressed, sad, irritated, or even just overwhelmed, ask to stay home and spend the day relaxing and getting yourself back into a good frame of mind. Make sure you contact your teachers to get the school work you’ll miss.[2] 
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