My daughter is refusing to go to school

[Ariel123]

Hi
My daughter is 12 years old and has been self harming for about 2 years now, she is seeing psychologist and on medication, she is currently refusing going to school, she has been bulled this year and previous years
She gets angry at me when I try to help her. She is eating a lot more lately and I’m worried about her mental and physical help
She has never been the one to regulate emotions before
I am really trying to do everything but she is always angry towards me for helping
Any advice will be great.

[Bailey_RO]

Hey @Ariel123 

Welcome to the Parents and Carers Community! Thank you for being so open and honest about what has been happening for you lately.

It sounds like there has been a lot happening with your daughter lately which I am sorry to hear. It is understandable how difficult this must be for you and I can hear how hard you are trying to support her.

I know you mentioned that your daughter has been seeing a psychologist which is really good to hear. I also know that you mentioned that your daughter has been self-harming for about 2 years which I am sorry to hear. I was wondering if your daughter’s psychologist has been able to support you both with this?

I wanted to share some resources we have here around self-harm which I thought you may find helpful. It includes some articles for parents around self-harm as well as some positive coping skills and stories from other parents.

I know that you also mentioned that your daughter has been refusing to go to school. School refusal is something that a lot of parents and carers experience and you are certainly not alone in feeling this way. I was wondering if you have tried to talk to your daughter about why she doesn’t want to go to school?

I was also wondering if you have been able to speak to the school about this and if they have been able to provide you with any additional support? I wanted to share this post with you that has some resources, information and tips about school refusal which you may find helpful.

If you would like some additional support, ReachOut offers one-on-one support sessions for parents and carers. If this is something you would be interested in signing up to or would like to learn more about, we have some information here.

I also wanted to check in to see how you are coping with all of this? It sounds like you have been doing everything you can to support your daughter and it is important that you also have support for yourself. Do you have any supports for yourself or have you been able to talk to someone such as a friend, family member, GP or mental health professional?

We have also sent you an email to check in, could you please keep an eye out for that?

Thank you again for reaching out.

Take care and we look forward to hearing back from you soon.