Fill in the blank. Really. Go ahead. Fill it in with just about anything you want to, and I'm sure it will fit into my 6 yo's life. Well, as long as it is something that happens at school.
It seems my son has been doing quite a bit of crying in school lately. I don't think he cried one time until the month of December, but right before Christmas break, the floodgates opened. First he cried because he didn't understand the directions on a paper. Then he cried because he thought they were going to force him to play musical chairs. That was before Christmas.
This week he has cried when he got confused on a paper, when he didn't know what 'Lamentations' was during memory verse time, after he volunteered to help the teacher demonstrate something and got finished with it, and on the way to music class because he didn't want to go. He ended up hanging out with his teacher instead.
But the conversations with him go something like this:
How was your day?
Good.
What was your favorite part?
I liked Center time best.
Did you have any sad times?
No.
Looks like you have a music paper. What does it mean?
It's piano and forte - for soft and loud.
Were you supposed to do something on this paper?
I don't know.
Did you do it in music class?
No.
Did you go to music class?
Noooooo. And the tears began to fall.
So we talked about it, about why he is sad and why he is crying in school and what he is feeling. And we got one answer for everything, "I don't know. I just get that feeling and I don't know why."
I know this will shock you, but that answer is not very helpful! I even googled 'crying in school' to see if I could get any advice. Nothing fits. He doesn't fight going to school, he doesn't cry when he leaves me, he says he has fun, and he understands new concepts easily.
But obviously we have some level of anxiety going on here. Something inside has to be bothering him for the tears to flow so easily and so often. His teacher and I are both a bit baffled. I feel bad for her because it is taking up her time in class. I feel bad for him because it can't feel good to be the kid who always cries. I feel bad for his classmates because he is causing a scene and interrupting class.
Any advice would be welcome. Until then - I'm going to go have a good cry.
3 comments:
Oh no! How frustrating. For everyone! Poor kiddo.
No answers. Just sympathy.
Wow, a kid problem I actually haven't had. Sounds like you are doing the right things to figure it out. My kids tears are due to steroids, so it's pretty easy to pinpoint it. But our issue is crying at home - he's happy as a clam at school! I'll keep thinking on it...
when braedan cries it's because he's frustrated, when he feels he's not understood, when he can't finish a thought (the thought process in his mind anyway...we may think that he's done, but apparently not). Maybe a question you could ask is this: What do you say to yourself before you cry. he may not understand this question. Perhaps the Lord can help you define it in his terms if he can't. Like you need to know what was that thought right before he cries. Maybe it's expectations that aren't clear to him. He's thinking the teacher wants him to do something more than what she really is asking him to do.
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