Returning back to school anxiety affects young and old students and there are many reasons why students might feel anxious about returning to school.
What is it?
Parents and teachers can probably remember feeling some level of anxiety about school when they were young. Maybe during exam period or having to answer questions in class. Anxiety follows us throughout our life-time. An occasional jitters or worries is a normal part of life, but there are people with anxiety disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “people with anxiety disorder experience symptoms often, and those symptoms do not easily go away.” In this writing we’re looking at the occasional jitters or normal worries.
Causes of Anxiety
Reasons why students feel anxious about returning back to school may include the following:
- Moving to a new school or grade: Many students thrive with change and they look forward to it. While that is true for some, there are others who cringe at the thought of change.
- Growth spurts: During holidays and school breaks, some children can experience physical growth in height and weight or voice. This is obvious in boys. They might speak with a deep voice which can be uncomfortable for them.
- Social media and relationship: With the advent of social media kids are experiencing anxiety at a higher level than before and social media has found its way into their relationships and identity.
- Rise in bullying.
- Higher academic expectations.
What can you do?
As there are many causes behind anxiety, there are also many things that you can do to help your child overcome back to school anxiety. One place to start is talking about relationships. Most of the time relationships and identity issues are at the very bottom of back to school anxiety. Will I fit it or not? Are my clothes right or not? Will my grades get better this year or not? When students feel loved, appreciated and accepted by peers, coping with their identity and academic demands become easier. Listen to our podcast ‘Back to School: Helping Kids Build Positive Relationships at School’ for ideas.
How to talk about returning back to school anxiety with your kids
- Listen to their concerns and contributions and acknowledge them.
- Allow them kids to feel and express their feelings. Whatever you do, don’t snap and tell them to get over it.
- Be patient and give them time and space to digest and adjust to their feelings.
- Create a positive learning environment at home to help their transition process.
- Supporting learning through fun activities.
Experts recommend talking because “talking about your problems can release pent-up feelings.” Australia’s Better Health Channel
You may also remember the popular proverbs “A problem shared is a problem halved. A joy shared is a joy doubled”.
Enjoy the school year.
Take care until next time.
Margaret