“Why does my son all of a sudden "hate" school?”
I know it's kind of normal for kids to start hating school at a certain age, but my son is only 9 years old and very suddenly has started trying to refuse to go to school in the morning. He still likes his friends, so I'm not sure what to do here.
2 Answers
There are so many reasons why a child would suddenly not want to go to school, and it is imperative that you explore what the problem could be. Is the child getting enough sleep at night/does the child feel rested and fresh in the morning? Is the child being bullied at school? Does he have friends or is he isolative? Does the child have difficulty comprehending what is being taught in class? How are his grades in the subjects he is taught at school? Does the child feel connected to the teachers, or does he find their classes boring? Find out what he does at school from the teachers - Does he cut classes? Does the child have any undisclosed emotional/psychosocial stressors? These are a few things you could explore and if need be get extra help - school counselors/professionals.
School refusal is actually quite common and is typically multifactorial. In general, a good place to start is conferencing with the school to see if there are issues/concerns they have already identified. Another good place to start is with an individual and or family therapist.
