Discussion forum for parents in Australia
02-28-2018 11:19 PM
02-28-2018 11:25 PM
03-01-2018 02:20 PM
03-01-2018 10:31 PM
@Sydney_2214 Are there no basic maths strands anymore? This is alarming.. I agree I think there needs to be an ongoing base-line math, we should bet on the strengths of our students more instead of forcing them into units that aren't for them at an advanced level.
07-01-2020 08:53 PM
07-01-2020 10:52 PM
Hello @EriTatiana , sorry to hear about what has been happening with your daughter lately. That sounds like a really challenging situation. These have definitely been strange times and it can be hard for kids adjusting to the new normal. Have you had a discussion with your daughter around why she has been feeling anxious and sick? Have you had a chance to discuss this with someone at your daughter's school (such as the school counsellor or wellbeing team) to see what resources or support is available? They may be able to arrange someone to talk with your daughter (if that is what she and yourself would like) to get a better understanding of what is making her anxious.
You might also find it helpful to call and speak to a trained counsellor about what has been happening with your daughter. One helpline that you can call to get some advice and support from is Parentline. We also offer a one-on-one support service that you can access to speak to a trained counsellor for some advice and support. Here is a link for some further information if you are interested. I hope that things will get better soon for your daughter, feel free to let us know how you're getting on .
07-04-2020 07:11 PM
07-04-2020 08:05 PM
07-04-2020 09:28 PM
07-20-2020 06:56 AM
My daughter was terrified to start high school 3.5 years ago and she suffered from school refusal. 2 years ago it went bad with threats of self harm and multiple visits to emergency room. We saw 6 different counsellors and psychiatrists. None of this helped. Possibly it made it worse. My daughter refused to engage with them and she felt that there was something wrong with her and it was her fault.
I generally feel let down by the health system. Our home life was terrible. My wife felt judged by everyone, including the health professionals and school. She also felt to blame - as did I. We were told the most important thing was to get her to school. The effort to do this (usually unsucessfully) was tearing us apart.
Towards the end of term 1 this year we "Gave Up". We decided that getting her to school was not the most important thing. We started to care less when she didnt go to school. We put less pressure on her going to school.
Then she started going to school. She went the last 9 days in a row in term 1. Then corona put her at home for 2 months. This showed us that remote schooling (which we were considering) would have been the wrong thing for us.
The first week back after corona she missed 2 days - and since then no missed days. It appears we are over the worst of it.
The things that appear to have worked for us are;
1 Not to blame our daughter for how she feels (we never really did - but she felt that we did)
2 Try not to blame ourselves (this is very hard)
3 Reinforce that she is loved and no matter what will be loved.
4 Realise that school is not the most important thing and that if she fails school she can get back to it at a later date - even as an adult
5 Anti-anxiety drugs helped for us - Not to get her to school in the morning, but to prevent her anxiety the night before
6 Changing schools where they appreciated the problem more
For any parent out there with similar problems, I feel for you and hope you find something that works for you.
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