How to help your kids deal with back-to-school anxiety: 6 things to keep in mind

As schools reopen after being closed for over a year now, this is the time when your responsibility as a parent is going to double. Going back to school after so many months can lead to anxiety in your child and can also become difficult to deal with stress comfortably. The researchers noted that up to 7% of children suffered from an anxiety disorder that could be diagnosed during the pre-pandemic period that disrupted their daily functioning. In addition, 20% tended to feel anxious which did not reach the level of a clinical disorder. And all children feel anxious at one time or another.

According to researchers, between January and May 2021 at the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center found that an astonishing 64% reported increased anxiety during the pandemic. Even in the spring of 2020, researchers found increased anxiety levels among children in China. Likewise, a large-scale survey conducted by the nonprofit Save the Children found a significant increase in negative emotions, including anxiety, in 48 countries around the world.

Regardless of how the Delta variant affects in-person teaching in fall 2021, the start of the school year this year will be different from the pre-pandemic years. Anxiety can be a challenge for many more children than usual, and it can be linked to other feelings, such as excitement and shyness. Here are the steps parents can take to help reduce their children’s back-to-school anxiety and encourage a better start to the fall semester.

Look for general symptoms of anxiety

Ask your children how they feel about going back to school and monitor headache, upset stomach, trouble sleeping, lingering “what ifs” questions, irritability, excessive worrying about far-away events, problems concentrating on schoolwork, and lingering worries that are not alleviated by logical explanations. An example of this could be worrying that there has been no progress in tackling the pandemic, despite widespread information about the development of effective vaccines and better treatments. The tricky thing, of course, is that any one of these can potentially be an indication of a lot of different issues, so take a second step. Talking to your children about their thoughts can help you determine if they are feeling anxious.

Encourage activities that reduce anxiety

Playing outdoors, playing with friends, or even just “hanging out” can be powerful ways to reduce negative feelings. Outdoors, people often feel more relaxed, the antithesis of anxiety. Playing in an unstructured way, that is, without someone else telling them what or how to play, allows children to successfully manage their feelings and reduce their anxiety.

Help your children understand the pandemic

Look for books and activities that can educate children about the pandemic and post-pandemic life to help them feel like they understand what is going on around them. Children may not understand what a vaccine is, for example, and how it can protect against disease. People who know more about the cataclysmic events or the relevant facts generally feel less powerless, and children are no exception. Several age-appropriate books use pictures and humor to explain to children what is going on.