DS is 4 and in Reception. He went back to school on Tuesday after the Xmas break and was absolutely fine. Wednesday i got a call from school to say he'd been crying since he took his coat off and was everything OK at home. They let him lie down in the reading corner and he was fine after that. I assumed it was just that he'd been out of the usual routine over Xmas and we'd spent lots of time together as a family and now he's having to go back to school and leave his toys / games console etc.
Now every morning since then he's been beside himself about going to school. He'll start in the evening saying he doesn't want to go to school tomorrow, and in the morning he'll be beside himself while getting ready.
I've asked him why he doesn't want to go to school and it's a different reason each time, ranging from "it's boring" to "i miss you when I'm at school". He says he gets a tickle in his tummy and it makes him cry, which makes me think he's got some anxiety over it.
I don't think he's being bullied and teachers certainly haven't flagged any concerns about bullying or his behaviour at school, I think he generally just coasts along with no issues.
He has a tendency to overthink - he seems to be frightened of everything at the moment, from sleeping in his room alone to whether the animals at the zoo are going to be behind glass or not.
He likes to repeat things - if something happened in a particular way he wants it to be like that each time, e.g. DH took him to watch football and got him a particular chocolate bar and drink and he asks for them both whenever they go to watch football now (there are other similar examples of this).
DH thinks he might have ADHD but I think he's generally a typical 4yo - wants things his way and doesn't always do what he's asked, happy and sociable, normal tantrums, interspersed with the behaviours I've described above.
I don't know what to do with him - he's cried for almost an hour this evening about school because his sister mentioned the word. I'm not sure if he's genuinely anxious or if he's repeating a behaviour that's got him some attention.
I'm going to speak to his teacher on Monday, but in the meantime I'd really appreciate any advice as nothing I say to him seems to reassure him - he's easily distracted and then is happy until he thinks about it again and sets himself off!
How can I help him?
Thanks if you made it this far!