Your child’s amygdala, and overly safe-keeping part of their brain has kicked into overdrive. It’s acting like an overprotective adult that believes they are doing the best they can to protect their child. Their brain is working overtime: “Don’t go. It’s not safe here. I told you not to come here. It’s too loud, and there are too many other children in one place. ‘School’ is a scary place – we are not okay.”
School is not unsafe like your child believes. As a parent, you know this to be true, because you researched the heck out of the school and asked many questions relating to all things before you decided to send your precious cargo there. Now your job is to help your child see it from your eyes. Understand what is making your child suddenly feel unsafe.
What happened to make her feel this way? What changed? Understanding your child instead of listing off reasons why she shouldn’t feel the way she does, will really help her to build trust in you. Be strong, be brave… and be a listener first. Your child may know and understand more about how to solve their problem than you think.
