According to psychologist and a psychotherapist Dr. Jyothi Maheshwari says that there are two common scenarios in which children refuse to go to school.

The most common one being anxiety caused by new or strange surroundings and people. She calls this "school refusal." The second reason, which is more serious is "school phobia", which may be caused by some dreadful incident that may have taken place with her in school.

Both issues need to be dealt with in a different way.

Dealing with Your Kid's Worries

Your child may be anxious because he is separated from you while going to school or may be because of a new environment at school, a new teacher or simply an anxiety over something strange and new.

It is also possible that he may be afraid of the discipline he is expected to follow while in school or the routine he is forced to follow at home if he has to go to school. For example, while at school he has to do what his teacher asks him to do and has to be well disciplined.

If it is school refusal, then you do not need to worry as it is just a temporary phase. The child may cry for a week or maximum for a month. Ignore his excuses for not going to school or tell him something like "I shall give you medicine and you will be alright".

Once he manages to make friends and is all set in his school, he will get over his "no-school" phase.

What Not to Do

You must refrain from scolding or hitting the child. You need to talk and try to find out what the problem is and address it accordingly.

You need to be very playful while convincing him to go to school. You need to change his no-school mood to wow-school mood. You must make school look like an enjoyable place to be.

Dealing with Phobia

Sometimes a child may develop a phobia because of It can be a torture of any kind by her teacher or probably because she is being bullied by her friends.