Dealing effectively with school refusal is far easier said than done for most parents. Often, children with this difficulty are dealing with some kind of fear. At times, it can be related to an event that happened in school, or something they are afraid could happen in the future. The fear is often irrational and causes them to experience anxiety symptoms when they go to school. Other times, they are concerned about leaving their parents, thus causing the child to become overwhelmed with fear when they realize they will be “stuck” in school all day.

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Whatever the case may be, however, making a child go to school despite their often very persuasive “objections” will usually mean that parents will have to overcome their own natural reactions to a child who seems terrified, or gets angry, or attempts to guild their parent for the decision.