Manage "Karate Refusal"

If your child seems to get sick every time it's time to go to karate (or school), the main goal in managing this is keeping your child on track to doing what we know is helpful and necessary for their mental and physical growth. Unfortunately, when your child seems sick and are trying to stay home from karate, it is not always easy to recognize that they are avoiding karate.

That is why a visit to your pediatrician is usually a good first step when your kids don’t want to go to karate. This can help ensure that your child doesn’t have a physical condition causing his symptoms. Unfortunately, while a physical condition can often be ruled out after your pediatrician talks to you and your child and does a physical exam, some children with "school refusal" end up seeing multiple specialists and having many tests before a diagnosis is finally made.

Once a diagnosis of school (karate) refusal is made, it can help to:

• make sure that your child goes to karate on the scheduled day, since the more he stays home, the harder it will be to get him to get back on track.
• understand that even though your child likely doesn’t have a physical problem causing his symptoms, that doesn’t mean that those symptoms aren’t real. So your child isn’t necessarily making up symptoms, such as stomachaches or headaches. They may just be caused by his anxiety about going to karate.
• talk to your child and his karate teacher to see if you can figure out what is triggering your child’s karate avoidance behaviors, such as a bully, karate performance problems, or challenge fitting in.
• consider getting help from a child psychiatrist and/or a child psychologist, in addition to your pediatrician, especially if you feel like you are having to force your child to go to karate.
• have a plan for when your child has symptoms at karate, such as spending 5 to 10 minutes sitting on the side and then returning to class.
• keep a symptom diary and see / speak to your pediatrician regularly keeping them in the loop.
• consider family therapy if there are any stressors at home, like a divorce, separation, discipline problems, death in the family, new sibling, or a recent move.

One of the most important things for parents is to be open to the idea that a child’s symptoms might be caused by "school refusal" and not a physical problem. This will help get your child back on track faster and avoid unnecessary medical tests. Even if you are not convinced that your child has "school refusal" after seeing your pediatrician, you can keep your child in school as you proceed with a second opinion or further evaluation for a physical problem.

Definition of "School Refusal"

School Refusal Overview


School refusal occurs when a student will not go to school or frequently experiences severe distress related to school attendance. Comprehensive treatment of school refusal, including psychiatric and medical evaluation when appropriate, is important because studies show that psychiatric disorders are the cause for up to 46% of students who fail to complete high school in the United States. Parents can do several things to help their child who refuses to attend school and treatment may be necessary. With treatment, the rate of remission is excellent; approximately 83% of children with school refusal who were treated with cognitive therapy were attending school at 1-year follow-up. School refusal is considered more of a symptom than a disorder and can have various causes. Read more