Separation anxiety and school refusal

It's week 3 of school on Arkansas and separation anxiety is on my mind.  This time of year usually creates a dramatic increase in anxiety for kids.  Many children will refuse to go to school or will come down with some mysterious medical symptoms that might be explained as anxiety.  The most common complaints are gastrointestinal and fatigue, but they could include headaches, dizziness, and other neurological symptoms.  Sunday nights and Monday mornings tend to be the most common times when those symptoms are coming from anxiety, so if you notice this pattern you may want to consider anxiety as the culprit. The solution?  Well it may sound old-school but a little bit of "tough-it-out" will really help.  The child must go to school for this problem to get better.  Often the pattern develops and is given too much sympathy, then starts to build into days and before you know it a kid has missed two weeks of school.  I often advise a plan to ride with another family or a grandparent to break the pattern of an overly-sympathetic parent caving to the child.  The child will often remain more composed for someone who is not the parent.  In extreme cases, I will recommend a shortened school day, but I generally recommend trying to start the day at the beginning of the school day.  If your family is suffering from this problem, there are many local mental health professionals that can help including psychologists, social workers, and licensed counselors.  In severe cases medication may be helpful.  Pediatricians are usually the first contact when the medical symptoms are prominent.