Childhood is a decisive time for our later emotional development and it is necessary to pay attention to children’s disorders. What can easily pass for a childish tantrum may be hiding a more important problem such as a phobia. So if your son is afraid to go to school, he pays attention because he may be suffering from didascaleinophobia and it is important.
What is the fear of going to school called?
Didascaleinophobia is the fear of going to school. Many parents will think that their children do not want to go to school on a whim, because they have a bad day or because they had a bad experience the day before. And most of the time they let that fear go by considering it “children’s things”.
However, there comes a time when this problem becomes evident and they go from tantrums and crying before having to go to school to having other types of disorders such as nightmares or anxiety. Yes, children also suffer from anxiety and didascaleinophobia is a good example of this since many consider it a consequence of so-called separation anxiety.
But why doesn’t the child want to go to school? Because you are afraid that something bad will happen to him or his parents while you are away.
Symptoms of didascaleinophobia
The first sign that a child has didascaleinophobia is obviously his refusal to go to school, but you can look at other symptoms, such as frequently getting sick with stomach problems or general malaise. It is also frequent that the little one sleeps badly and has nightmares, in addition to showing fears towards situations or objects that do not have any danger.
If you inquire a little into the behavior of this child, you will discover that he is excessively attached to his parents, that he has negative or fatal thoughts such as that something bad is going to happen or that he never wants to spend the night in another family member’s house or friend.
Causes of didascaleinophobia
As with other phobias and at any age, the causes of didascaleinophobia are varied and difficult to determine. Sometimes the fear of going to school is generated by family problems, such as a divorce, for example, or simply if you live at home with a lot of stress.
Other times, didascaleinophobia has a more logical cause, which is bullying, without the need for that child to be the victim, but simply a witness to bullying another classmate at school. Feeling like you don’t fit in with the other kids or being rejected by them also triggers that fear of school.
Poor school performance for different reasons is also pointed out as the cause of didascaleinophobia. The child has a hard time in class and wants to avoid this situation at all costs. Logically, this is an important problem that must be dealt with as soon as possible.
How to solve the fear of school?
All phobias can be overcome and more so when they occur in childhood, since children’s minds are freer from prejudices than adults and behavior can be modified in time. At the slightest sign, you have to pay attention and not think that it is a tantrum.
The treatment of didascaleinophobia requires a lot of empathy and knowing how to put you in the place of the child who is truly terrified of going to school. In this sense, it does not hurt to reinforce the positive part of going to school, as well as its importance in life. And in any case, the help of a professional psychologist is considered necessary to achieve a healthy development of the child.