There can be various reasons why kids don’t want to go to school. There could be bullying, a psychological issue, a problem with teachers or discomfort in the school environment. Contrary to belief, not every kid adapts to the school model. Many find it very difficult indeed, often due to the lack of structure in certain classes. But the important question here isn’t why they have the school blues but rather what can you do about it. What should you do if your kid no longer wants to go to school? We have a few pieces of advice that should help you tackle this problem head-on.
School Blues: Why Doesn’t My Kid Want to Go
Talk To Them
Yes, this is a simple piece of advice, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not important. Talking to your child gives you the best chance of getting to the root of an issue. Many parents think it’s better to go directly to the source like the teacher or the principal of the school. It’s a rookie mistake to think that they are always going to know what’s going wrong.
It’s not a slight at teachers or principals to say that issues like bullying often go undetected. Remember, these officials will be responsible for keeping a check on hundreds of kids and often things do slip through the cracks.
However, you do need to make sure that there is an open dialogue between you and your kid. Make sure you let them know that you’re not going to blame them or push them into doing something that they don’t want to.
Consider An Underlying Issue
Did you know that many psychiatric issues in kids and teenagers go undiagnosed for years? Autism is a key example here. Due to the triad of impairments, many kids are denied a diagnosis if they are even remotely sociable. Or, how about depression? We often think that depression isn’t something that will impact you until later on in life.
However, the sad truth is that there are patients with depression under the age of ten. Some health centers do offer a school refusal program that will provide psychiatric treatment if kids are avoiding school because they are suffering from a condition like depression. If you look at a site like CompassHealthCenter.net for more information, you will see that there are various treatment options available here. You might hate the idea of treating your child like they have a mental health issue but it could benefit them in the long term.
Is It Stress Related?
A recent survey revealed that 49 percent of kids in high school feel a great deal of stress as you can see from TheAtlantic.com. For a time that’s supposed to be the best years of your life, this is frankly, quite worrying. Though it’s not particularly surprising because, from an early age, kids are under pressure to get scholarships, pass exams and avoid anything that could end up on their permanent record. Can you alleviate this type of stress for kids? Not always but by telling you’re there from them, you can help them cope with the pressure and hopefully avoid them trying to miss school altogether.
We hope this helps you deal with a kid with the school blues who just doesn’t want to get up for school in the morning and lets you tackle this issue head on.