Ohhh… I have a 6 year old too, so I feel for you… This is horrible!!! I definitely would talk to his teacher, and even the principal about this.. Tell them he’s very afraid and nervous at school.. they definitely need to know this and I’m sure they’ll be glad you told them… Mine is in first grade this year and is doing better.. but last year was a different story…

He would walk so slow into the school building last year, his dad and I called it the “death march”.. he wouldn’t care if he was late, would hold the door open for all the other people running in.. catch raindrops on his tongue… anything to avoid walking in that door!!!

Well, turns out he was deathly afraid to go to lunch because he said the “lunch ladies were soooo mean!!”… they march them in and out of the cafeteria like little soldiers and they aren’t aloud to talk or anything!! So that was one of the problems!!! (He’s still afraid of them this year!)

He could be nervous about some of the other kids… maybe they are not being nice to him? Or maybe someone is bullying him? It also might be that because this is all new to him he’s just plain scared….. Or maybe the teacher is really stern with the kids and he’s afraid to make a mistake?

You really need to get to the bottom of this and maybe have a nice talk with the teacher before hand, and then a little get together with the three of you, the teacher, your son and yourself… and show him that she’s actually human, lol…

Also, another important thing is to make sure he gets off to school with a happy frame of mind!! No matter how late, or flustered or “whatever” I’m feeling in the morning, I’m VERY careful not to pass that on to my kids in the morning and try to leave them laughing when I drop them off for school…

Also, plenty of sleep is CRITICAL I’ve found with the kids… the more sleep they get, the better their day is going to be … mine too, lol… It can make or break their day…

Another… you have to make sure they have a good breakfast in the morning, or at least SOMETHING in their tummy so they have energy to get through the morning until lunch.. Also, you can make him happy if he has a yummy lunch to look forward to… pack him stuff he loves with a few extras, and maybe a sticker or a piece of candy to let him know you love him… I even cut the crusts off my little one’s bread for him.. some parents would think that’s weird but we feed it to the birds in the morning so they’re happy and we’re happy…

It’s also important to make sure he has all the proper tools for school, like pencils, paper, etc…. and make sure he has something he likes to wear… Comfort is always my first priority when dressing my kids… Soft fabrics, easy to go to the bathroom with…. and comfy shoes…

I guess most importantly is to call his teacher and even let him meet the principal if you can… Mine used to say, “Ohh…. there’s Mr. XXXX… He’s sooooo mean!!” about the principal, until one day I told the principal he was scared to death of him and then he started saying hi to him every day when I’d pick him up so he finally realized the principal was not really a monster… now he says, “If you go to his office for something good, he’s nice, but if you go to his office for soemthing bad, he’s NOT nice…”..

At any rate… this is a new year and it should be fun for your little guy, not something he dreads but I think you can do something about his fear.. like I said, talk to his teacher and then have him get to know the teacher with you right there… it will help, I promise… Especially if she knows he’s fearful….

It sounds like he’s having anxiety or panic attacks. You should talk with the school counselor and his pediatrician on ways to make him more comfortable and ease the stress for him. It’s not something he can control nor will he probably just “get over it.” But it’s not an impossible thing to overcome either — he just needs a little help in adjusting and you want to try to help him now so that his nervousness doesn’t escalate into full-blown panic attacks. Besides, he’s going to be in school for a long time to come and you want it to be a somewhat pleasant experience….especially at this age. Medication isn’t always the answer — especially for this type of situation. More likely the doctor and/or counselor will suggest calming exercises and such. The counselor can help him at school and the pediatrician can give you ideas on what to do at home (and school) or refer you to someone who can.

I would say go to his pediatrician first and tell him what’s going on. He can help you from there whether he needs medicine or give you some advice on how to help. I think this is pretty common but he does need some help. He shouldn’t have to feel that way – good luck

It is not unusual. School can be a scary proposition He is not with his mother, has to adjust to a teacher and a number of other children and is not longer the center of the world. He should get over it.

Everybody who is 6 years old are nervous at school. Check if nobody abuses him or something like that.