Signs There’s Something Wrong at School
School children are under more pressure than they have ever been before. From a very young age, children today face exams and assessments. Four and five-year-olds bring homework home. Young children are being asked to make decisions about their futures, when they’ve got no idea of who they are yet, never mind who they will be in ten years’ time. Then, outside of education, they face pressures from their peers, both on and offline. Pressure to look a certain way, to eat just right, to speak the right way and to wear the right clothes. They also have to learn to keep themselves safe online, as well as all the usual learning how to look after themselves.
All this pressure means that it’s no surprise that many children feel overwhelmed, anxious and find themselves doing poorly at school or struggling to make friends. With more children battling depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm issues, loneliness and other mental health problems, it’s vital that we, as parents, know how to recognise that there may be something wrong at school. Even when the answer to “how was your day?” is always “fine”. Here are some of the signs to watch out for.
School should be fun, but it’s not always. Source – kids-girl-pencil-drawing-notebook-1093758
Reluctance to Leave
The first sign that there’s something wrong at school is a reluctance to leave in the morning. Especially if they’ve always been happy to go to school before. Alternately, you may find they’re happy to leave the house, but then grow anxious to the point of panicking when you go to leave them there.
A Change in Sleep Patterns
Children generally sleep well. Their needs vary, but if you notice that they’re either sleeping more than usual or tired in the mornings, they may be being kept awake by worries and concerns.
A Change in Eating Habits
Children can be very fussy eaters. But, they tend to stick to a similar pattern of what they like and how much they eat. Sudden changes, such as eating less, picking at their meals, showing no interest in their old favourites or even overeating, can be signs that something is wrong.
Bedwetting
Bedwetting is much more common than you might think. It’s not unusual for children to have night time accidents up until the age of 8. However, if they’ve been dry for a long time and suddenly start regularly wetting the bed, there may be an underlying cause, such as school anxiety.
Daytime wetting can also be a sign that your child has something on their mind. Check out dryandcool.co.uk for an immediate solution, but speak with your child to try and uncover the cause.
A Change in Behaviour
When children and unhappy, anxious or worried, they can sometimes have difficulty expressing their feelings. This can lead to poor behaviour as they struggle to hide their feelings.
Remember, being quiet or not fancying school one morning isn’t usually a sign of a problem. But, if it becomes frequent and other things start to worry you, it’s important to speak to your child and their teacher to uncover the problem and find ways to help.