TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - If a child does not want to go to school and even vehemently refuses to go, parents need to be more vigilant. Do not let your child experience symptoms of extreme fear of school or scolionophobia, which is a form of anxiety disorder.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, scolionophobia makes many children not want to go to school at certain times. These children feel insecure or anxious about going to school. Even this phobia can cause physical pain.

Quoted from the Health of Children, school phobia most often occurs in children aged 5 to 7 years and 11 to 14 years. Or for children at the elementary and junior high school levels.

In addition, studies show that about 4.5 percent of children aged 7 to 11 years and 1.3 percent of children aged 14 to 16 years refuse to go to school.

Quoting from the BBC, there are many reasons why children experience scolionophobia. One of them is because they feel overwhelmed with schoolwork and feel anxious around others. Or even, it could be that the child experienced bullying at school.

At school, children may develop scolionophobia after experiencing:

1. Bullying, insult or threats of physical abuse from other children

2. Fear of criticism, punishment or ridicule from a teacher or other school staff.

3. Learning difficulties, such as dyslexia (difficulty reading and language) or dyscalculia (difficulty understanding math and numbers).

4. Intense worry or fear about a catastrophic event, such as fear of potential school shootings.

Children who refuse to go to school are caused by experiencing discomfort, stress, and anxiety. Many have also experienced physical symptoms, such as dizziness, stomach aches or headaches when they go to school.

For some children, the main symptoms of scolionophobia are physical. When they think about going to school, children can even suddenly have diarrhea, headaches, nausea, stomach aches and tremors.

If it becomes severe, the child may experience psychological symptoms, such as clinginess, fear of being abandoned, fear of excess schooling, and tantrums.

WINDA OKTAVIA | IMAJI LASAHIDO (INTERN)

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