Child anxious about going to school on school bus.

[lottiejenkins]

Hi. I have a friend whos 11 yr old son has just started secondary school. He is finding it impossible to get on the bus to go to school, he wakes up at 6.30 am and then stews about it, his Mum has offered him "everything" to get on the bus but he feels that he can't. At the moment she is driving him to school five miles away. He is however able to travel home on the bus. Has anyone else had any experience of this, i really want to help her to help him.

Can she get to the root of why he can come home on the bus but not go in the morning?

Is it because on the way home he is on the start point of the bus (assuming it's a school bus not a service one), whereas in the morning the bus might already be full or half-full of older students who might be, or even perceived to be, intimidating? I can see how it could be daunting to have to get on the bus and move along and find a seat if you think all those older, tougher kids are looking at you, whereas at the other end of the day you might be there at the bus's starting point and scoot on quickly!

Is there a friend or anyone he knows even a little he could get on the bus with? Perhaps he could be dropped off at a friend's house and walk to the bus together, instead of his mum having to drive him to school.

I just find it interesting that the problem doesn't seem to lie with the bus itself, but only the morning journey, so I would ask why is that different to the afternoon one.

bump

Im bumping this again because i feel my friend really needs some help, thanks for the answer i have had already she was interested (very) in that, any other ideas out there?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

0y dd was very nervous about the bus - and it turned out that some big girls she knows at a sports club she goes to had been telling her stories about the awful things that happen to "new girls" on the bus! We arranged for my brother to get on the bus a stop earlier and sit at the back, and dd and he pretended not to know each other, but she knew he was there. He did this twice, everything was fine and she's OK now.

Remember that they are still very little - some of them need almost as much gentle handling as they did when they started reception!

Would it be possible for him to meet up with a friend/neighbour and go to the bus together? I think portonovo's ideas are good. I think it might be the having to approach everyone concept that is bothering him. If he walks up in a two it wouldn't be the same at all. It sounds a bit like what some Mums struggle with on the school run where everyone is already in groups.

Just to update on this post, my friends son has managed to get on the bus for the last three mornings and go to school! He had to run one day because he was late and would have been in trouble so we are now wondering if it was the thought of queueing up for the bus. We have all made a big fuss of him!!

bump!