It can be just to get attention of mom or dad. It can be to try and get back at a sibling. It can be to get out of going to school. She hasn't figured out how to convincingly fake a sickness but that hasn't stopped her from trying to tell us she feels sick in order to try and get out of going to school.

There are times when it is obvious that she is faking it because we see exactly what is to be gained. But it can often be hard to tell when a child is doing something just to get attention.

Additionally when it comes to school it is really hard to get the entire picture as to why she might be faking it without being there and seeing what may have led up to it. With the PE thing, it was obvious because of the recurrence. The earache makes sense and isn't something she has obviously faked before, but why did she throw in the leg hurting again. Leg pain, in general, we chalk up to faking it. Almost always. Because this is her goto excuse for a lot of things. Maybe her ear really does hurt and she thought throwing in leg pain for good measure would increase her chances of getting to come home.