School Refusal

Many kids look forward to going to school. They may not always enjoy every single part of the school day. But in general, they like spending time with their friends at school, learning new things and being challenged. Some other kids just dread going to school though.

School refusal is most common in kids who are five to six years old, when they are just starting school and in their first year of kindergarten. For these kids, going to school may become so stressful that they have temper tantrums over going to school. In addition to having temper tantrums and crying when it is time to go to school, symptoms that children may have when they don't want to go to school may include vague complaints such as:

• stomachaches
• headaches
• nausea
• dizziness
• chest pain
• joint pain

There are several reasons to why they refuse to go to school:
They want to stay home with mum.



They have no friends at school.

They don't like the teacher.




The work is too hard or too easy.





Someone is being unkind.

There is a bully.

They did something wrong.

They didn't get into the team.





They've been away for a long time.


They feel sick.



If the children are allowed to stay home, they seem to calm down and feel better quickly. Many parents have a hard time dealing with this behavior when it becomes a daily struggle. In many cases, this type of behavior starts right after the child has been at home with the parents for several days or weeks.


A child who refuses to go to school for several weeks or longer may develop both social and academic problems. If the child’s feelings of fear and anxiety are not addressed, he or she is at risk for developing an anxiety disorder.


Discuss with your child's teacher to identify the problems. But the best way to overcome the problem is to make sure that your child goes to school everyday , since the more he stays home, the harder it will be to get him to go back to school.