Our son had to literally be “peeled” off me every morning and practically dragged into the school kicking and screaming. It was awful for both my son and me. The three teachers who had to drag him in every morning would kind of chuckle as if it was funny. It became a routine…”Oh, here comes Devon”…ready, set, grab, and peel. We talked to his teacher, the school counsellor, and his family doctor, and they all acted as if it was “normal” and said that he’d simply grow out of it. It was far from normal. They also didn’t see the hour it took nearly every morning just to convince him to leave the house. Mornings were terrible from kindergarten through to a few months into grade 2. Luckily, in grade 2, we signed him up to be a “greeter”, which allowed him to develop leadership, a sense of responsibility related to the school. It also was an opportunity to meet/see other children in an unthreatening way.
School Phobia and Exclusion
Youth Mental Health Canada
