6 year old daughter and separation anxiety??

[Jessi317]

I am not even sure that it IS separation anxiety. That is just the only thing I can think of to describe the way my 6 year old daughter has been acting. She has been coming into my bed at night for the past 6 months now. She NEVER did that before age 5. She never really had a chance to go through separation anxiety either since I am home with them and we do almost everything as a family. She has gone through 2 years of preschool and then a year of kindergarten and always loved school. She has always been extremely social and outgoing. She fits into any situation without a problem. Now, in the first grade, she is having MAJOR meltdowns almost daily. Mostly at school. I recently started working very part time at the school, so I am there on occasion. I also volunteer a lot of time for the PTA. She can't seem to handle it when I am in the building though. She breaks down and cries and wants to come home with me. It has gotten to the point of ruining not only her day, but her older brother's day as well. They are in the same school and when she sees him, she asks him to take her to the nurse, call mom, etc...She isn't being mean or acting out in horrible, or violent ways, but she is miserable and it is tearing up everyone around her. She is doing it even when I am NOT in the building.   She is dreading the next day at school before she even gets into bed the night before. She says it is because she just wants to be home with me instead. It is starting to turn into visits to the nurse claiming she has a tummy ache. I don't want to dismiss her feelings or fears or minimize them, but I need to figure out a way to fix this without encouraging the behavior to continue.  Any suggestions?

[jdtm]

I need to figure out a way to fix this without encouraging the behavior to continue.

The only way to "fix" anxiety is to "lessen the anxiety" and that is the difficult part.  There's lots and lots of information on the internet - try googling "separation anxiety and children" or "anxiety  behaviors in children" or even "school refusal" to learn more about this issue.  I also am wondering if there might be an issue with the teacher or bullying from another child.  Hope this helps ....