Hello!

We are having trouble with our daughter settling back into school after having so much time off after the Covid restrictions, she went through having issues being separated from us, saying she was sick or tired, not waking us in the morning if we slept in and having emotional meltdowns or anxiety attacks.
The school introduced a reward system in Term 3 for the students not regularly attending for various reasons and it was working for awhile but then her response was “i don’t care if i don’t get a reward”.
Now we are in Term 4 she is trying every excuse under the sun for staying home she is in grade 3 this year and we are worried that having so many days from school she will fall behind the other kids.
Have there been other parents going through a similar situation and how did you handle it?


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  • I would love to hear an update on how you got on in the end.
    Its very difficult if the child is not happy and sadly it can come back on the parents if the school ends up reporting the parents for their childs lack of attendance.
    Hopefully all is well now


  • Does your daughter have friends at school? I always find that if my son doesn’t want to go to school, he really perks up when he sees his friends arriving at school and suddenly forgets about me!
    You shouldn’t be relying on your daughter waking you up to take her to school. Sorry to be harsh, but that’s the parents responsibility and you need to make sure that you’re organised and get up on time so the mornings aren’t too stressful for anyone in the house.


  • Does the school have a social worker or someone who can help with transition. Maybe she can be eased back into school.


  • find the real reason is there a friend she can meet at the gate and they can walk into scholl together
    what ever you do dont give into her even with melt downs tough love show her whos boss and she isnt getting away with it as hard as it is and no matter how terrible you feel or sad for her and if your taking her to school walk her to the gate and its a kiss a hug good by worst thing you can do is hang around


  • You aren’t alone in this issue, I know a lot of others going through it too. I agree with others that counselling is a good start. Fingers crossed for you. I think she’ll get there.


  • I honestly have no advice, just wanted to share your frustration, my daughter has been exactly the same, she is the same age aswell. She has always loved school but getting her to go this year has been an absolute challenge. We just started her doing some art therapy, hoping it helps in the long term.


  • Definitely try to find the real reason for her not wanting to go to school. Has she broken up with her BFF or has the BFF moved on with a new mate? Is she being bullied? If the teachers can’t shed any light on the problem, then try counselling. The only other thing I would try is to make home as boring as possible and also hard work. Keeping her room perfect, doing more to help for tea, lunch, breakfast even cooking the meal herself, sweeping the lounge, and the patio and dusting, washing putting the clothes on the line – anything to make school seem a much better place to be than home.


  • She’s obviously still struggling with the anxiety caused by extended lockdowns. She might need more help to readjust to “normal “ life. Definitely see about getting her in to see a psychologist or counsellor. Check that there is nothing else going on at school. Her fears are very real to her and she needs help to deal with them.


  • I would suggest asking why she does not want to go to school. Another thing you can do is seeing your gp for a referral to a counsellor or other professional person to assist you. Hope all goes well moving forward.


  • I would suggest counselling.


  • I think you may need some professional help. Unless you’re prepared to home school, this is not viable for anyone. Start with your GP and then see if you can find a psychologist to help.


  • When my kids are home sick, we deliberately make it super boring.
    Tell them they aren’t to move from the couch, no sweet treats and no video games/ youtube
    They hate it so happy to return the next day.
    It is what works for us


  • It’s sounds like you’re letting her run the house. You need to put your foot down and tell her she has to go. It’s for her own good.


  • Speak to the welfare team at school and look into outside help also.


  • Hmmm, I’m not 100% sure, but is there a chance there are factors other then covid restrictions at play here? Seems a bit extreme for one so young.


  • I can understand this is tough ! I would request a conversation with the school counselor. Some schools have a specialised behaviour and engagement team.


  • I have been going through this for a few years now with one of mine. I have found that my child has social anxiety, brought on by being bullied in year six. (now year 11). They are also autistic, so they often experience sensory overload. I’m sorry I can’t be much help, but I would definitely be looking at/for the root cause. Your GP may be a good person to start with. Be open to seeing a psychologist. I try to set my child up to succeed – by this I mean that I lower my expectations to accommodate my child’s limitations. I expect of them what I know they can achieve. Then I load on the positive reinforcement. I have found mainstream schools to be fairly inflexible with their expectations, so be prepared to advocate for your child. ie; Your child may need an adjusted/shorter timetable. You are doing a great job. Remember that on the hard days. Be extra kind and forgiving of yourself. and most importantly – ‘Re-set and Re-start as many times as you need to. Tomorrow is another day – Stay in the moment. The future will take care of itself.’ :)


  • Wow ! This is my daughter that you are describing ! Except she is in Grade 11 … But she also had to isolate at the beginning of the year ( Week 1 and 2) and has tested positive to COVID twice already this year (4 months apart).
    Every reason under the sun has been given as to why she hasn’t gone to school this or that particular day – and truly I know; hence I have enlisted the help of professional counselling to try and help her be happy to go back to school. Best wishes to both you and your daughter at this very difficult time.


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