While some children might experience some regular fear or nervousness surrounding the first day of school, true school anxiety is uncommon — and may require some additional help to correct. Understanding the signs and knowing ways to help can make your child’s relationship with school so much easier, allowing them to flourish in school — and maybe even enjoy it!
What is School Anxiety?
According to Medical News Today, “children with school anxiety feel an extreme amount of fear and worry regarding everyday attendance [which] can interfere with their ability to go to classes or do well in school.” School anxiety is more than just some worry over the first day or a big test — it’s a serious issue that should be dealt with.
However, school anxiety isn’t so easy to diagnose and can be confused with other conditions. Since it is not recognized as an official mental health condition, school anxiety generally has an underlying cause such as “depression, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, oppositional defiant disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to Medical News Today.
Cause School Anxiety
According to Healthline, school anxiety can affect children of all ages. Causes can include “social anxiety, bullying, academic anxiety or testing, past or ongoing trauma, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder or chronic health conditions” to name a few. Younger children might gravitate more towards tantrums or feeling sick while older children might gravitate more towards skipping class and other behaviors.
Recognizing the Signs
Because school anxiety can be linked to a myriad of causes, it can manifest itself in many different ways. If you believe that your child is experiencing any of the following symptoms, discuss them with your child, their teacher and their pediatrician. The Child Mind Institute has identified these behaviors as common signs of school anxiety.
• Sometimes, symptoms of school anxiety — like inattention and restlessness — can be confused with other conditions like ADHD, according to Children’s Mercy Hospital. However, school anxiety can lead to children becoming distracted, focusing on their worry or fear.
• Attendance Problems and Clinginess: When children have strong negative feelings surrounding school, this can turn into a refusal to attend school or exhibit excessive clinginess, according to the Child Mind Institute. Pretending sickness or floods of tears each morning isn’t normal and could be a sign of school anxiety.
• Disruptive Behavior: Another sign that could be misunderstood as another condition like ADHD, disruptive behavior can feel similar to school refusal. Children might have outbursts or refuse to follow classroom rules and instruction.
• Trouble Answering Questions in Class: If your child’s anxiety comes from a feeling that they have to be perfect at school, they may have trouble speaking in class or answering questions out of fear.
• Frequent Trips to the Nurse: Feeling sick at school and often asking to go or going to the nurse can be another sign of school anxiety. Children may feel relief just from getting to leave class, or they might think there’s a way that they’ll get sent home early. Either way, it shouldn’t be ignored.
• Obsessive-Compulsiveness: Arranging everything to be perfect or performing compulsive action such as handwashing, counting or other repetitions can mean that your child is dealing with school anxiety, especially if these actions are only performed at school
Ways to Help
Recognizing the signs is just the first step. It’s also crucial to know how to help and when to consult a professional. Prevention is a good way to start. Encourage your children to talk about their feelings and mental health in your home. The age of your child might determine whether this exercise feels more like a game or more like a conversation, but either way it’s extremely important. Also, remember to be conscious about how you are talking about school around and to your child. If you are placing a lot of stress on high test scores or extracurricular activities, your child might feel anxiety and inferiority if they think they can’t meet your expectations, according to Healthline.
If your child’s symptoms feel chronic, even after opening up mental health conversations and changing your expectations around school, it may be time to consult a therapist. Talk to your child’s pediatrician and teacher about their behavior and discuss whether it may be best for your child to visit a mental health professional.
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