Lots of students don’t want to go to school.
Some students, however, face a daily struggle to get into school or class.
For these students, school and everything that comes with it (homework, tests, quizzes, the cafeteria, other students, teachers, etc.) can trigger strong emotions like anxiety and depression. Parents may also struggle to send their child to school, as they worry about their child’s mental and physical health. Some parents struggle with how to break the cycle of avoidance.
School avoidance can start for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons include:
- Illness
- Bullying at school
- Problems at home (e.g. divorce, parental illness)
- Transitions to a new school
- Academic difficulty
- Onset or worsening of psychiatric illness
These situations that can trigger school avoidance need attention. They suggest there are valid real world problems that need to be addressed so the student can begin the journey back to school.
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