Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone on here will have experienced something similar and can offer some help!
My 5 year old hates being in big groups of children and is hysterical when I drop him off at school. He has also behaved like this today when dropped off at a holiday sports camp (he’s only done two days previously, this is the last day).
He is absolutely fine on the way to school, but when we get to the door he gets himself so worked up that he is screaming, hitting, kicking, throwing things and is completely out of control. He tries to run after me if I walk away and a staff member has to physically pick him up to get him through the door. No amount of reasoning with him helps and I have also tried a reward chart, bringing a treat after school if he goes in nicely, which didn’t make any difference. The teachers have tried distracting him with tasks for when he gets in but the state he gets himself into it’s like he isn’t in control and doesn’t know what he is doing or saying.
Nothing has happened at school to make him not want to go. The teachers say it takes him 10 minutes or so to calm down and then he calms down. They keep telling me it’s a phase but it’s been going on for months now.
I have also seen him at a birthday party where he refused to join in and just sat at the side. When he was with the other children briefly he stood there furiously biting on his fingers and covering his face with his hands. He didn’t interact with the other children either, even though they were all his classmates and he knew them.
He just hates being around lots of other children and will get very grumpy and shout at everyone to go away and leave him alone. I’m worried that the other children don’t want to play with him and that he will become more and more isolated.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it social anxiety or something more? Is there anything I can try to help?