School Phobia
School phobia is a childhood anxiety disorder that can seriously disable a child's ability to function normally. Formally called didaskaleinophobia, school phobia is defined as an irrational or inappropriate fear of leaving a person, like a parent, or place of comfort, like the home. As such, school phobia is also referred to as separation anxiety.
Every child has times when they become fearful, especially in their early years when they are just starting school. This is a perfectly normal reaction to being separated from parents and being plunged alone into an unfamiliar situation for an extended period of time. Other high stress times, like exam days or maybe the day an oral report is to be read in front of the class, will spark a certain level of anxiety and fear that is completely normal.
Nearly all children enjoy going to school, getting out of the house and experiencing new and exciting things every day, so this type of fear almost always disappears once the child gets used to the change. For the rare child with school phobia, however, the fear only becomes worse as the days pass.
A school phobic child is not merely afraid of leaving Mom and Dad and heading off to school. They are terrified. So terrified, in fact, that they will resort to all kinds of behavior to get out of it.
Symptoms of School Phobia
A child with school phobia will do whatever they can to get out of going to school, including flat out refusing to go. A school phobic child will frequently claim they are too sick for school, and they won't always be faking it. An extreme anxiety disorder such as school phobia causes actual physical illness in many cases. A school phobic child can exhibit fatigue, headaches, nausea, shaking, sweating, heart palpitations and diarrhea.
Other signs that a child may have school phobia include:
• Constant clinging to or shadowing the parents
• Constantly thinking and worrying about their safety and that of the parents
• Excessive worrying about harm coming to them or their parents
• Extreme fear of sleeping away from home
• Extreme reaction to irrational fears (the dark, monsters, animals)
• Not wanting to be alone in their room
• Refusal to leave their parents
• Regular stomach aches and complaining of physical illness
• Sleep problems, including trouble sleeping and having nightmares
• Tantrums during separation from parents
The important words to take note of here are extreme, excessive and constant. As stated above, it is common for a child to experience a certain level of fear and anxiety when confronted with a new or unfamiliar situation. The big difference with a school phobic child is that they are not simply scared. They are absolutely petrified, to the point of desperation.
School phobia can be very successfully treated with therapy, which should begin as soon as the disorder is discovered.