As kids are headed back to school, tackling their anxiety is a top priority. There are several reasons why a child gets anxious, according to experts that “Pop Sugar” asked:
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Separation anxiety, or feeling anxiety from being away from a parent or caregiver.
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Traumatic anxiety, resulting from a traumatic event at school, like threats or bullying.
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Fear of failure is usually related to tests or tasks at school.
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Conflict anxiety, typically resulting from ongoing issues or conflicts with peers or teachers at the school.
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General social anxiety or feeling overwhelmingly uncomfortable around others.
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Fears and phobias like anxiety over toileting in public, public speaking, or certain activities.
Here is how they recommend helping the children:
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Understand the source. “It is important to understand the source of the anxiety; if there is something happening at school, such as bullying, then you need to deal with that directly,” Dr. Amy Mezulis says. “Often there is not — the child is simply anxious — but we don’t want to miss a solvable problem.”
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Regularly attend school. “It is very important that your child returns to school even if they are feeling anxious,” Dr. Willough Jenkins shares. “School anxiety is reinforced the longer a child stays out of school, so this is another area where it is necessary that parents intervene.”
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Don’t accidentally reinforce. “If your child is not able to attend school, ensure [the] home is comfortable,” Dr. Jenkins says, “but not unintentionally reinforcing the habit of staying home (such as having unlimited snacks, video games, or time with parents).”
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Have a few dry runs. “For children new to school, we recommend doing dry runs of school days to familiarize the child with the new routine,” Dr. Mezulis suggests. This involves actually driving to the school, getting out, and going to the front door.
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Set small goals. “Small goals might be things such as handing your homework to the teacher when you walk in the door; identifying what you’re going to do at recess (play on the bars, walk three laps around the playground); one social activity (say hi to a certain kid),” Dr. Mezulis explains. “Something that is small and obtainable can build confidence.”
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Offer a small reward. “I don’t recommend bribing children to go to school, but having a small reward at the end of the week — a family movie night or going out for ice cream — can be a nice way to celebrate your child pushing through the anxiety and being successful with school attendance that week,” Dr. Mezulis says.
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Develop an anxiety toolbox. “It can be a physical box where they put things that help them with anxiety,” Dr. Jenkins says. “The box may include a family photo, a nice-smelling soap, a puzzle, and reminders of coping skills like box breathing or a grounding technique.”
Source: Pop Sugar
