I am sorry to hear that school has been such challenge for your little guy! I recommend that you make an appointment to speak with his teacher, perhaps the school counselor or psychologist to develop strategies for managing his reluctance to go to school each day. Children tend to refuse school for a number of reasons (see article below), and I believe that the personnel at your son's school will be able to help you determine why your son is struggling so much. As you may have heard, children often refuse school because they are seeking to avoid or gain some sort of desired outcome. That is, they may wish to avoid school so they can spend more time with mommy or they try to avoid school because there is something stressful happening with peers once they are at school, etc.

I would also encourage you to discuss some of your other concerns with the school personnel to get their help on devising parenting practices to help him cope with the challenges and disappointments of everyday life. You mention that he is accustomed to being the center of attention. It is not uncommon for children in this position to struggle to take care of themselves (and be prone to worried feelings because they are not sure if they can take care of themselves). That is, when children are the center of everyone, they begin to feel all-powerful, but at the same time, they "know" that they cannot manage all of the responsibilities of the world (there are so many scary things in the world and they are only children, after all!), and they are scared by having too much power. They need to know that they are not the center of everyone, that the parents are in charge, and they are accountable to others. With structure, clear limits and consequences, they will be relieved of the burden of the "power", and they will relax, knowing that the adults are in charge, and they will be taken care of. I know this is a complicated concept, but I am confident that his teacher and school counselor/psychologist will be able to help explain this further.

Best wishes,

L. Compian, Ph.D.
Child Psychologist
Education.com