Fear of going to school – what to do?

Headache, nausea, aggressiveness. These symptoms occur when the alarm clock rings in the morning? School fear is not uncommon. Read here what you can do if your child is afraid to go to school – for more joy in learning.

Many children are afraid to go to school. | © .com / bmcent1

Everyone knows it: the tingling in the stomach when the next math work or vocabulary query is due. This feeling is completely normal. Even more: it even benefits us. Because excitement promotes concentration. But sometimes these uncomfortable feelings expand into a disorder that can severely affect children’s everyday life.

"I don’t want to go to school!" – Sometimes the fear of going to school is obvious, sometimes it is hidden. We have compiled the most important information and tips on the subject of fear of school for you.

In this article you will find: Show

How does school fear arise??

The fear of going to school almost always results from negative experiences that children have had at school. mobbing (or cyberbullying), problems with teachers, poor grades, school stress and pressure to perform or also a changing schools or schooling can cause such fears. In such situations, some students feel overwhelmed and powerless. Then it is time to intervene quickly before the negative feelings can solidify. Especially at the beginning of the 5th grade, it is worth paying close attention to the behavior of your children. This is when fear of going to school occurs most often.

What does 5th grade have to do with fear of school?

Many children look forward to secondary school. Then they really are among the "big ones" (even if they are the "little ones" again). But this change often leads to sudden fear of school. How are these two events connected??

The pupils enter a new environment with mostly strange people: new school building, new teachers, new class structure.
The school days are getting longer.
New subjects are introduced.
Class speed and performance level increase.

This change can be very surprising and tiring at first. Stress accumulates and ultimately manifests itself in the fear of going to school. This in turn occurs in a number of different symptoms.

How do parents recognize school anxiety?

For example, if your child has always enjoyed going to class, but has been dawdling every morning and hesitates to leave school, or to be allowed to stay at home begging, it pays to pay close attention.
Sometimes fear of school is expressed by sudden onset Nausea, headache or abdominal pain. Write down when these symptoms appear. If they do not appear on weekends or during the holidays, the school will most likely have something to do with it.
Has your child not slept well for some time or has a previously unknown and inexplicable aggressiveness on, this can also be evidence of fear of school.

Signs of fear of school at a glance:

Physical signs

Emotional signs

sleep disorders

irritability

a headache

nervousness

stomach pain

anxiety

Nausea and vomiting

mood swings

diarrhea

outbursts of anger

Excessive urge to urinate

difficulty concentrating

bed wetting

exhaustion

tension

Loss of appetite to eating disorder

unrest

encapsulation

palpitations

Listlessness to depression

Fatigue and exhaustion

stutter

What can parents do if they are afraid of school??

If your child suffers, parents understandably want to help as soon as possible. However, if the cause of a problem is outside the immediate access area, as is the case with school, it becomes a little more difficult. We have a Set of tips collected to help you as parents to resolve your child’s fear of school:

Make your child feel loved regardless of school and grades. If your child feels that they can trust you and that the home is a safe haven, your child can relax better.
Emphasize your child’s strengths. Then your child can concentrate on it and go into everyday school life with a strengthened back. This helps with difficult subjects as well as with stupid sayings from classmates.
Talk to your child about everyday school life. Use phrases like: "How is it for you in school? How do you like it there?" Try to understand the fear of school. Children who are afraid of school now need nothing more than parents to whom they can tell about their concerns and who are taken seriously.
But don’t make school the main topic at home either. School is important, yes. But life and your child is so much more than school. The more people talk about a topic, the more it weighs. Especially if your child does not have the best feelings about school at the moment, it should rid of this bad feeling at home can and do not still have to think about it.
Be a good example. Maybe they have experienced a situation like this and can tell about it – and above all how the whole thing has developed (for the positive, of course) and what you have done yourself against your fear of going to school. As a result, you stay at eye level with your child and show understanding.
Don’t dramatize the situation and don’t use sentences like: "How terrible that must be!" This increases the fear of going to school and the feeling of being in a hopeless situation.
Hold your child in your arms. Sometimes this helps more than each sentence and shows your child that you are there and are sympathetic.
Fantasy stories with characters in a similar situation can your child z. B. also motivate them to face their fears in reality.
Try to keep in touch with friends from elementary school. You are in the same situation as your child and may have had nice events in your school that you can talk about – that motivates and cheers you up.
Exercise in combination with a healthy diet ensures that your child exhausts himself and feels completely fit – so he can sleep better, feels more comfortable and stronger. The area of attack for fear is reduced.
Support your child’s hobbies. Having fun in his free time releases the tension after school.
If it is due to a specific subject: Playfully introduce your child to a few of the new subjects and explain what they could use the many, sometimes difficult, content for later. That motivates! Well armed, students are less afraid, to fail. scoyo packs the school material, for example, in exciting online learning stories and conveys the material in a playful manner using examples relevant to everyday life

Discover new school content in a playful way with scoyo:

Your child may feel overwhelmed by the teaching material Private tutoring be a solution. You can find a free guide to help you choose the right offer for your protégé here.
If there are problems with teachers, discuss with your child whether a 6-eye conversation could help to clear up any misunderstandings.
If your child is bullied at school, you should urgently talk to those involved about it and build your child’s self-confidence. You can find help with bullying here.
If you feel that the fear of school does not subside, therapy can also help. Here the children get to know their fear: where does it come from? How does it express itself? How do I endure it and how does it become less until it finally disappears?

We hope that your child can go to school carefree and without fear (soon again) and wish you lots of strength and positive energy.

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