| If your child is burdened with some kind of anxiety, the | | | | well). Other possible triggers are financial issues at |
| beginning of a school year is sometimes not a pleasant | | | | home, a change of schools or learning difficulties. In |
| experience for him or her. This can lead to school | | | | other words, parents of such children should not |
| phobia, or school avoidance - a syndrome that | | | | automatically assume that the child is being lazy - there |
| manifests itself most visibly when there is a new | | | | may and often are deeper issues involved and that |
| school building involved (think about the first day of | | | | affect the overall student assessment. |
| middle of high school). Children with school phobia have | | | | Teachers are quite familiar with the signs of school |
| a harder-than-usual time with separating from their | | | | phobia and have their own modus operandi for tackling |
| parents, and all sorts of strange medical complaints | | | | it. The first thing they might do is send the parents |
| may crop up. Of these, stomach pain is probably the | | | | home, since their presence only makes things worse. |
| most common - however, the psychosomatic effect | | | | Of course, this has to be done tactfully so as not to |
| of anxiety has also been known to develop high | | | | affect parent-teacher relations adversely. Most |
| temperatures school phobic children. A tantrum out of | | | | schools have a school counsellor who is trained in |
| the blue is also not out of the question. | | | | calming and reassuring school phobic children. If a |
| This may sound familiar to you - there certainly is a lot | | | | school bully is involved, they will address the problem |
| of discussion about school phobia on parent teacher | | | | tactfully. Teachers will try to identify if learning |
| networking sites and at local PTA meetings. Some | | | | difficulties orstress about homework are possible |
| advice for parents is definitely in order. | | | | reasons. |
| A child with school phobia is usually not very | | | | However, the parent connection is still the most vital |
| forthcoming about what he or she is feeling, so the | | | | one in understanding and handling school phobia. You, |
| resistance and fear manifest in medical symptoms, | | | | being a parent, most help your child deal with home |
| tantrums or obscure justifications for staying away | | | | based issues if they exist. A secure home front goes |
| from school. The fact is that a child with school phobia | | | | a long way in giving a child more comfort about going |
| feels unsafe, and this may often have something to do | | | | to school. If your child is displaying a chronic avoidance |
| with issues at home. The existence of a schoolyard | | | | of school, it pays to consider how problems in the |
| bully is one of the most common reasons and there's | | | | parents' relationship with each other, excessive |
| one at every level, be it elementary school, middle | | | | pampering or expectations or any other troubles at |
| school or high school. | | | | home may be contributing. If you have a child with |
| However, school avoidance is also widely prevalent | | | | school phobia, try discussing the problem on your |
| among kids whose parents are divorcing or in whose | | | | parent teacher networking forum - these usually yield |
| family a death has recently occurred. (In fact, children | | | | some high-grade advice for parents on such issues. |
| and divorce coexist uneasily on many other fronts, as | | | | |