Parenting Icebergs

“I can’t wait to go to school tomorrow mommy!” both my kids told me as we prepared the evening before. I had my chalkboard filled out with their name, teacher, grade etc. A classic Pinterest photo opportunity! First and last day I ever did that again! When I picked up my twins from their first day of kindergarten; my son very firmly said, “That was way too long.” He added, “I am not coming back!”

This was the beginning of my son’s school refusal. I had no idea what to do! Parents looked at us with compassion but I always felt judged. The teacher didn’t have any ideas that worked. Daily we struggled to make our way to school. With two kids in the same grade it was difficult to juggle. But having two kids who are experiencing what I know now as anxiety: I didn’t know what I was doing!

I can laugh now looking back! Here I was driving my kids to school. We lived five minutes away. So, I found a spot right next to the kindergarten classes. My lovely daughter panicking, asking repeatedly if we were late, then would run to her class. Meanwhile, my son was hiding in the car screaming at me. Yes, there were many onlookers with surprised expressions as they walked by our van. Which was very hard to brush off. At times my son would run from the car and hide in many lovely hiding places on the playground. Eventually with the support of a very dedicated school counselor, my son would get to class.

This sucked! I had no clue why this was happening and this was only kindergarten! My twins did have a preschool experience. Their preschool teacher didn’t see any concerns with behaviors or social skills. If anything their preschool teacher said their skills in the classroom were more advanced. My son was very clinging and I usually had to sneaks out of the room once he was engaged. I was under the impression this was typical behavior for a four year old who was experiencing being away from mom for the first time!

Where do you go first to get answers? I wasn’t convinced our pediatrician would have been helpful. I decided to contact The Children’s Naturopathic Centre in Portland Oregon. I highly recommend this clinic as a place to start! Dr. McAllister is wonderful, caring and has a lot of experience with neurodivergent kids! If Dr. McAllister doesn’t know the answer, she will refer you to practitioners who can dig deeper into what is going on with your child!

You can find the Children’s Naturopathic Centre here: www.nd4kids.com/index.html