6 yr old school behavior

[Gmomtwo]

My 6 year old grandson started kindergarten last week after being in a transitional kindergarten last year (he has an early Aug birthday so was kept out of Kinder for a year).. Each morning he moans about going to school and has a tough time getting to his classroom. His mom is a teacher at the same school he attends....his younger brother is in junior kindergarten at the same location. The younger child can't get to his classroom fast enough and is happy to be going. The older child, a much more sensitive and serious child, cries and/or gets teary-eyed most mornings walking down the hall to his room but once inside he is fine and enjoys the day.  He also gets upset when he sees his mom on the playground during recess. He did this last year for the first 2.5 months of school and then got over it. He can't explain what the problem is and says he doesn't want to cry. He told me one day that he wished his mom wasn't there because it makes him sad to see her but couldn't explain why. He is allowed to go and visit her on the playground but it ends up with him sitting nearby in tears. He is an extremely intelligent child. There is great sibling rivalry and they are very competitive with each other....which is another ballgame! He has been in speech therapy for several months as he began to stutter.....not all of the time...sometimes weeks go by without any trouble. You can imagine how this makes the mom feel each day. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated as we do not know how to approach the situation...if it should be ignored as much as possible, to discuss it, etc. We want the boys to be happy go lucky kids without worries.  Please help!

Thank you.

[Gmomtwo]

Dr. Kennedy, thank you for the prompt response...I feel better already and will pass this along to my daughter. Your recommendation is pretty much what she had decided to do...she will be relieved to have your expert opinion backing her up.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The situation should be treated as matter-of-factly as possible. His baseline separation anxiety, and it is not severe, is exacerbated by having his mother so close at hand. He will likely show the same pattern he did last year. This will work itself out and there's no need to discuss it with him or in any other way call unusual attention to it. The expectation should be that he go to school and participate in all the regularly scheduled events, just as all the other children do.