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20 Hudson Valley Parent n August 2016 land Daycare in Poughkeepsie, says that even the wee ones may also be stubborn about leaving mommy and daddy when they arrive at preschool and scream or cling to your legs when it comes time to say goodbye. "It is completely normal for a child to have a little bit of separation anxiety," says Dreyer. "The child might be worried about what time their parents will return, what their parents are doing, why they can't be with you, etc. I reassure parents that within a few minutes, all of the chil- dren will be laughing, playing, and learning, and most likely will not mention the parents until they walk through the door at pick up time." Children may also feel unsafe staying in a room by themselves; display clinging behavior or exces- sive worry and fear about parents or about harm to themselves; shadow at any time, but is most common in children between the ages of 5 and 7 as well as 11 and 14 - times when children are dealing with the new challenges of elementary and middle school. Kristin Dreyer, director of Dream- By LISA IANNUCCI E very morning as soon as the alarm sounds, Nicole bounces out of bed and hurries to get dressed and eat breakfast. She then energetically waves goodbye to mom and dad and gets on the school bus because she doesn't want to miss even one day. Not your child? Perhaps yours doesn't even want to leave the house in the morning, has publicly declared his hatred for school, is always complaining of a stomachache, or is completely defiant about attending. What now? First you should know that you aren't alone and that your child's behavior is actually pretty common. According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, not wanting to go to school may occur "Since school is a major focus of their lives, it should not come as a surprise to a parent if their child does not want to go to school." ELLEN SMITH social worker What to do when your child doesn't want to go to school