What Happens If Your Child Doesn’t Want To Go To School?

Please Share!

This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

We work hard at giving our children the best start in life, but it can be a very difficult scenario to overcome if our children have unique problems or afflictions, as many children do. We can either choose to be a stiff upper lip type of parent and try to coerce them into a direction that we think is good for them, or we can work with them to get the best possible outcome for both sides. It’s a very difficult one with education because our children need an education, but what if, all of a sudden, they are reticent about going to school? Why could this be, and what can we do to overcome this?

Is It All Of A Sudden?

We have to go towards the more obvious reasons first because it could be a personal problem like being bullied. Or it may be that all of a sudden, academic expectation of them has exceeded, and they’re struggling to keep up with the pace, which is very normal. If your child has suddenly grown a fear of going to school, working to get to the root of it can help us to solve the problem more effectively. But we’ve got to take time to drill down and find the real reasons.

Should We Work With The School?

When we come to a satisfactory reason, we can work with the school to find a way around the issues.

One thing to think about is that not every child benefits from public school. As a teacher, while understanding that public school is necessary for a society, I know that it is impossible to structure it to benefit everyone.

There could be an alternative solution available, online schooling programs are tailor-made for those who don’t benefit from the typical classroom structure. I have always wanted to homeschool my kids and as a licensed teacher I feel confident in my ability to do so.

Many parents might not feel this confidence. Maybe school was never their thing and they don’t feel that they could teach effectively. Maybe they don’t WANT to teach, but want something that is better for their kids. Online public schools are becoming more and more available and are building positive reputations.

Acquiring Professional Help

Ultimately, if we aren’t in a position to homeschool our child, and they have to go to school, it may be that a change of school would be better, but at the same time, if it’s a deeply personal problem or emotional issue they’re suffering from, we can’t underestimate professional help.

Many schools have counselors or can refer you to a professional, but it could be a long time before you see any results. But on the other hand, if you’ve been through the counseling process yourself, you’ve got an appreciation of what it does to help.

It’s not a magic cure that will solve all your problems, but if your child is going through a deeply emotional time, and they don’t want to go to school, this can have a major effect on the family, but we have to be acutely aware of how this could impact them throughout their education, and even into adult life.

Please Share!