Back to School For Kids With Anxiety

Back to school can be challenging for any kid but throw in naturally occurring anxiety, and it gets worse.  

With August being National Back to School Month it’s imperative to try and ease your anxious kids (or maybe even yourself) into the new routines. There can be a lot more pressure on High Schoolers because of the social setting, the pressure of college admissions, and just regular life stress.  

So, how do you and your child prepare for this? 

Family Education provides a few tips on how to help. However, one thing you should always remember with any teen is that how the world perceives them is HUGE during that age. Even if you can’t remember why it’s a big deal, it is. 

The Look— 

• Your child (especially your daughter) may be trying out new styles and within reason, freedom of expression is important. Kids are already so judgmental and self-conscious so try to hold back on negative comments.  

The Acceptance— 

• Many kids and parents use this time to focus on college admissions. With that in mind, placement tests and even just regular courses heavily show the importance of “being smart enough”. This comparison is negative for anyone and even happens to adults in the workplace. 
• When your kid struggles, be supportive and make sure to remind them that many factors can go into “success”.  

As a kid who struggled with actual PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), these probably would have been great help had my parents known about them. From my own experience, I would recommend helping your kid discover who they are outside of school as well.  

This could mean taking them for different instrument classes, hiking, reading, drawing, or anything else that doesn’t have a direct link to school. Not everything needs to be tied back.