School Anxiety in Kids: What Can You Do?

It’s not just college students who have a hard time dealing with school. Kids as young as 9 years old or even younger suffer from school anxiety too but it’s not just the usual kind of sadness that these children experience that is bothersome, the psychosomatic responses are quite alarming as well.  While some complain of headaches and stomach pain some become restless and later on very violent. 

Experts say that it is safe to say that there are always those days when we didn’t like going to school and that the idea of it just made us feel really depressed or anxious. What is interesting is that, it is not just you who experienced school anxiety. In fact, most kids do not realize that their peers may be experiencing the same thing too. This is normal but in some cases, the reaction of some kids is worse than others to the point that they develop extreme anxiety. Some of them even fear going to school but the more pressing question is, what causes school anxiety in kids? When something bad is going on and kids do not want to leave home even for a minute, they have a tendency to develop a certain kind of fear of going to school. In some cases, kids who suffer from school anxiety refuse to attend classes. Experts say, when this happens, intervention from the parents will not be enough because professional help is needed.

While some kids can have a bout of anxiety at any time while they are still at school, studies show that there are certain ages where anxiety pose to be more difficult to deal with. The first grade (Grade 1) according to researchers, with its transition from half day classes to full day ones while just glued to a desk the whole day can be quite exhausting for many kids. These are the times when kids are cranky and are usually overwhelmed by the drastic change. Another potential time to watch out for for parents is Grade 7 when they move from grade school to middle school. Social problems arise at this age because kids at ages 12 to 15 are just so painfully self-conscious. This feeling has been experienced by many adults but this is aggravated because kids at this age feel that everyone is judging them 24/7. Many kids often do not attend school because they have a pimple breakout thanks to changes in their hormones i.e. puberty. The challenge at this stage is to stand out and kids would want to stand out in a good way not someone who has acne or someone who is too fat.

Peer pressure is another issue that children have to deal with at this point of their lives. Everybody seems to want to fit in i.e. by smoking, kissing someone or having a beer, etc. This social pressure is worrisome but it is part of growing up. However, once your child no longer wants to go to school because of social pressure, it is time to call for help. Psychoanalysts for children say that it could be due to fear of growing up. 

Not attending school is a side effect of anxiety but aside from peer pressure and other social problems at school, what else could cause this? Something that is happening in a child’s family can be the culprit too, experts say. This may happen when the parents file for divorce or when one parent is terminally ill. These things make kids reluctant to leave their homes in hopes that them being there will stop bad things from happening.