Is it a mental illness that children and adolescents do not like to go to school?

  At present, the problem of children and adolescents who do not like to go to school (boredom) is gradually increasing. Children and adolescents do not like to go to school generally have two kinds of situations, one is conscious truancy, this kind of children usually cheat their parents and pretend to go to school every day, they may really do not love to go to school internally, usually their academic performance is not good, in addition, usually these children have something that attracts him/her outside of school, such as going to Internet cafes, game halls, etc. Another situation is that the child is inwardly eager to go to school, but they have a fear of going to school, and the fear is various. Most of these children have triggering factors that cause them to not go to school, such as being reprimanded by teachers, having conflicts with classmates, failing exams, etc. There are also some children who do not have clear triggering factors and gradually do not like to go to school. These children are eager to go to school, but the moment they are about to go to school, they will have an inexplicable fear of going to school, and they may have physical symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, abdominal pain or even fever, but when their parents allow them not to go to school, these symptoms will disappear quickly, and usually, when they are at home, there is no problem.  In this article, we will only talk about the latter case and call it “school refusal”.  According to our research, refusal to go to school is only an outward manifestation of behavior, but it can be divided into several psychological problems. The most common problem is attention deficit, because of this psychological problem, they have difficulty concentrating on their studies, and gradually their grades drop, they do not like to study, and finally they develop into refusal to go to school. Another common condition is depression and anxiety. Children with depression and anxiety feel upset, unmotivated and lack motivation to learn. Younger children may have separation anxiety, which means that they feel fearful when they are away from adults. There are other causes, such as family problems.  Parents (including teachers) need to recognize the following points: 1, these children have an internal desire to go to school, they just fear going to school; 2, they have fear in many cases adults can not understand, but this fear does exist; 3, not the child’s willpower and character problems, but a psychological disorder.  4. Forcing children to go to school may have a temporary effect, but the underlying problem has not been solved.  So, how can we treat this?  First of all, it is necessary to seek the help of a doctor. Second, parents should learn to change their attitudes and communicate with their children with the help of a doctor. In addition, let the child talk to the doctor (usually the child is reluctant to receive counseling and treatment, in this case, the parents can do several counseling sessions first) Again, get the understanding of the school teachers, and the doctor can help the parents to communicate with the teachers. Finally, the use of a small amount of medication cannot be ruled out, because if the child is not attending school because of one of the above mentioned psychological disorders, addressing the “primary” disorder is the first prerequisite for treatment.  In conclusion, there is no easy cure for school refusal, it takes time and requires close cooperation between parents, teachers and doctors.