We need to explore these reasons for avoidance at home as well as in school. How important a role should teachers play in the whole scheme. Teachers often have more information on the child's stressors than we suspect. We need to be in dialogue with them, we need to ask specific questions about school performance, and we need to respect their role as teacher and not always as just emotional problem solver for our children. Teachers do solve children's emotional problems, but we also need to be respectful of their limitations because they have to deal with so many children.
Teachers often have a very good view of the child's emotional health, but it's only one view.
It's very important for parents to attend school conferences regularly and ask specific questions about their child's performance. At the University of Iowa, we do have a clinic that focuses on stress-related problems with children. However, school psychologists, child psychologists, if they work with children on a regular basis, are often able to deal with these stress-based complaints. The goal is to look for ways to help the child cope whether it's a stress or a physical illness. Behavioral methods, which are what I just mentioned, are often very helpful in reducing headache or belly pain, especially when these have more of a psychological or stress-based origin.