How can I help my child cope with back-to-school anxiety?

It's often little, fixable things that cause back-to-school anxiety, says psychologist Tamar Chansky, DO, who specializes in anxiety. Learn more -- plus ways to help kids get excited about the new school year.

Transcript

00:00

So heading back to school can be anxiety-provoking for kids, for parents, and for teachers.

00:14

First thing is to let your child know-- if they are expressing worry about going back to school, to let them

00:21

know that they're not alone. It's so important for them to think, well, what do you think your friend Johnny is thinking

00:27

or your friend Susie? They're all thinking the same things. You know, what's it going to be like? How-- you know, is everything going to go OK?

00:35

Is the teacher going to be nice? So you want to find out what your child is really worrying about. Try not to guess and plant any ideas.

00:43

But just say, well, you know, everybody's nervous before school starts. What are you thinking about? Or what's your worry telling you about?

00:51

And that's really the gold mine. You can find out there what your child's imagination is coming up with.

00:57

Maybe there's some misinformation, like, they heard that in third grade, if you forget your homework, that you automatically

01:04

go to the principal's office. Well, no wonder they're feeling nervous about going to school. But you can help them to correct those kinds of distortions

01:12

about things. And the other piece, though, is keeping it real, going and visiting school, going into the library,

01:22

finding out where the bathrooms are, going and visiting your-- you know, your teacher, seeing if you can help out with the bulletin board,

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finding out where the lockers are, learning how to use a locker combination. It's often the little things that cause a lot of anxiety.

01:37

And it's often those very things that, with some practice and practical experience, the anxiety really lifts.