14 yrs. Grade 10

It begins slowly in the beginning. They wake up and groan groggily that: * they didn’t sleep well, tummy ache, headache (*insert any imaginable reason for not going to school). Then it begins to appear to become a “habit” and you explain they have to go to school. “It’s the law!”… (because you think they’re making excuses, because they’re simply tired and don’t want to go). You feel you have to push them to go (which causes more angst). You feel it’s your duty as a parent to get your child to school, even when it hurts them. And they physically hurt. Then you go through the reasons it could be, i.e., is my child being bullied? trouble in a course, social issues with a friend? And then it begins to happen more frequently. It’s insidious. Until one day your child… j u s t s t o p s g o i n g to school!! And your heart breaks, because you know if they could they would, but they c a n ‘ t. That’s when we reached out to the family doctor for an assessment. MORE therapy with the psychologist, anything that would help us help our child. They need to feel heard!! There is a veil that comes over a kid who is struggling, and it is important to let them know it doesn’t define them. Keep them interacting socially with their friends, even if they haven’t attended school. Support the child to their core. And let them know it’s going to be O K A Y! Favourite motto: “This too shall pass….”