A mum was left sobbing in the street after her nine-year-old son ran away from home because he doesn't want to perform in his school's Christmas concert. The child took his parent's house keys, locked his dad and sister inside the house and ran away from home in a bid to escape the spectacle.
Thankfully, he was spotted by another school mum about 20 minutes later - and no harm was brought to him. Opening up on Mumsnet, the woman wrote: "For last year's Christmas performance the school offered that he do the lighting and screens rather than be on the stage. This worked well for him as he was still a part of the production. This year, however, they are insistent that he must physically take part, be that singing, dancing or narrating. He is adamant that he doesn't want to face an audience of 100 parents."
The mum went on to explain how she has taken her son to the GP for a check up because he struggles with "excessive noise".
They suggested he wears ear defenders when in a noisy environment - such as in busy shopping centres or during school assembly.
Fearful his classmates would laugh at him for wearing ear defenders, The child's behaviour declined during his concert rehearsals.
"Over the last week of performance rehearsals, he's run out of the school hall, he's argued with teachers, and he was accidentally kicked by another child and responded by intentionally kicking them back," she added.
"I'm not excusing any of his behaviour and we have had several losses of screen time and conversations about having to do things in life that you don't want to do."
But things escalated when he decided to run away from home, putting himself in an extremely dangerous situation.
She said: "On Friday, after a further incident at the play, he took the house keys locked his sister and dad in the house and ran away. He's never done this before.
"The police were called. We obviously searched for him and thankfully a school mum spotted him around 20 minutes later running up and down a road.
"The police will be completing a contact report and potentially a safeguarding referral although they're happy he's low risk given the circumstances."
When school reopened the following week, the mum asked to speak to the headteacher about what happened after school on Friday.
She asked whether whether her son could have an alternative role, similar to the role he performed the previous year, but was told "this would reward his poor behaviour".
Crying out for help, the woman has taken to Mumsnet to see whether any parents have any advice on how to handle this situation - and to ultimately help her son express his emotions in a safe way.
"I am desperate to find some coping mechanisms for him, and for the school to understand that, yes his behaviour has been unacceptable, but that I need them to work with me to find a reasonable adjustment," she added.
"Given he's already in a spiral I do not want to reach the point where he's refusing to attend school."
While most users shamed the headteacher for being so "blasé" about the situation, others urged her to speak to a professional about her son's behaviour.
One user said: "The child is so distressed by being forced to participate in a school play.
"It's forcing him into really risky behaviour to get people to listen to him.
"You, as his mum, need to tell the school he's not to participate and that's the end of that. No lighting or backstage unless he actually wants to."
Speaking about the headteacher's comments, another user added: "They need a serious look at how they address his needs.
"School based trauma is a real thing and the poor kid’s self esteem will take a real knock from their approach."
A third user said: "Can he not be poorly on the day of the play? I wouldn't put my son through that."
Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
