Is this your child every morning?

It is believed that a child is like a sponge and learns with experiences and teachings. Various theories state otherwise, they believe children actually are born with a unique temperament- activity level, curiosity, behaviour pattern, attention span, quality of mood and adaptability. Children and adolescents constitute 50% of our total population, the burden of psychiatric illnesses is, therefore, more than it is accounted for. And yes, children do suffer from psychiatric illnesses just like adults.

School Refusal

Also known as school phobia. It is when a child just refuses to go to school. Crying, throwing tantrums, aggression and making excuses can be seen. 

Bullying

It is one of the major reasons to avoid school.Bullying is when an individual or a group of children, repeatedly and intentionally cause hurt or harm to another children who feel helpless to respond.

Signs of bullying

  1. Changes in sleep & eating patterns
  2. Frequent tears or anger
  3. Mood swings
  4. Feels ill in the morning
  5. Becomes withdrawn or starts stammering
  6. Becomes aggressive and unreasonable
  7. Refuses to talk about what is wrong
  8. Begins to target siblings
  9. Continually 'loses' money or starts stealing.
  10. Has unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches
  11. Comes home with missing or damaged belongings or clothes
  12. Comes home hungry.
  13. School signs of bullying
  14. Doesn't want to go to school
  15. Changes their route to school or are frightened of walking to school
  16. Doesn't want to go to school on the bus/tram/train
  17. School grades begin to fall.

Steps to overcome School Refusal:

  1. Have a detailed conversation as to cause of such behaviour. Approaching as a friend during such a conversation helps. Try to find out if any bullying, abuse or any other specific reasons are involved. Solve the cause if possible. Take steps to ensure the child’s secure feeling.
  2. Consult a psychiatrist & child psychologist for counselling.
  3. Don’t stop school in case of the absence of any specific reason. Inform school. 
  4. Child to attend school either with parent or guardian for short duration at first. Rewarding every time child is comfortable and increasing duration of stay. Gradually child will be able to attend alone.