Fear of school: How to help the child?
Fear of school can have very different causes and affect each child differently. Here we provide information about the most common triggers and symptoms of school anxiety and give tips on how parents can help their children.
Causes of school anxiety
Psychologists estimate that around five percent of children and young people in Germany suffer from school anxiety. Girls seem to be affected more often than boys. However, the causes of such a fear of school are varied and different for each affected child. Possible triggers for school anxiety can be, for example, the following factors:
- Fear of exam situations
- Too much pressure to perform due to demands from parents and teachers or personal goals
- Social anxiety or extreme shyness
- Inappropriate behavior by a teacher
- Problems with classmates, for example bullying
- Violence at school or on the way to school
- Learning disability, such as dyslexia , dyscalculia or ADHD
- Gaps in knowledge due to a change of school or illness
Fear of school can also be triggered by fears in specific situations, for example when children are afraid of going to school alone, riding the school bus or being called on in class. Some children also fear being away from their parents for long periods of time.
recognize school anxiety
When a child suffers from school anxiety, it is important to recognize the symptoms as early as possible. Do you often feel very nervous before exams? Does it often miss school because it suffers from inexplicable stomach pains ? Does he avoid certain situations if possible or refuses to go to school altogether? If a child frequently exhibits some of the following symptoms at or before school, these could be signs of school anxiety:
- stomach pain
- nausea, diarrhea or vomiting
- sleep disturbances or nightmares
- wetting
- sweats
- Tremble
- Extreme listlessness
- aggressiveness
- concentration problems
- Loss of appetite or even an eating disorder
- Frequent daydreams
- Chewing finger nails
- Regularly skipping school
If children show pain or symptoms of illness, apparently without a physical cause, parents should go to the pediatrician to be on the safe side and have it clarified where the symptoms are coming from. If no obvious cause can be found, it is quite possible that the reason for the symptoms is more psychological.
What can you do about school anxiety?
In order for parents to be able to help their child, they should first talk to them and gently try to get to the bottom of the matter. What is the child afraid of? what ails it Why is it worrying so much? Parents should take their child seriously and not try to downplay or ridicule fears.
Parents can also bring the pediatrician, teachers, and school psychologist on board to investigate the cause of school anxiety together. The school psychologist will usually carry out some tests with the child to make a definite diagnosis of school anxiety. He can then explain further treatment steps and necessary therapy measures so that the child’s school anxiety can be treated individually. Then it can learn to get its fear of school under control and to enjoy going to school again.
Sometimes a change of school or class, additional support through tutoring or fixed learning structures also help to reduce school anxiety. Parents should try to avoid unnecessary school stress and ensure that their child gets enough exercise and relaxation to compensate for studying and homework.