Heading again to college after a protracted summer season break could be an thrilling time for kids and caregivers. But for some college students, the anxiousness of heading again to college could also be fueled by fears or fear. In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Stephen Whiteside, a Mayo Clinic youngster psychologist, presents 4 tips on how to help kids overcome back-to-school anxiety.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:10) is within the downloads on the finish of this publish. Please courtesy: “Mayo Clinic News Network.” Read the script.
Many of the issues dad and mom and caregivers can do to help kids with back-to-school worries are pretty simple.
“The first one is staying calm and warm. Realizing that when kids are nervous and worry, they often express that through acting up, being more irritable. Kids usually take those emotions out on their parents because that’s the safe place to do so,” says Dr. Whiteside.
Some kids may really feel overwhelmed on the considered interacting and reconnecting with friends, which is why Dr. Whiteside suggests dad and mom make efforts to e book play dates for kids to reconnect earlier than the brand new college 12 months.
“Reconnecting with some of the kids they know through school but don’t see so much during the summer can be helpful,” says Dr. Whiteside.
The predominant factor to keep away from is avoidance.
“… deciding that this is too hard for my child, they can’t do it. We need to not do this, whether it’s go to school, or we need to avoid certain things because it’s just too overwhelming for my child — it runs the risk of allowing things to get worse over time,” he says.
Finally, ensuring kids get good, structured sleep, are eating properly, limiting display screen time and emphasizing bodily actions can help kids really feel higher.
“When we feel better, fears and worries are easier to manage,” says Dr. Whiteside.
One signal of back-to-school anxiety that folks and caregivers might look out for is their pupil asking a number of questions on what might or might not occur. Dr. Whiteside says making a plan can help simple that fear.
“Making it clear that it’s perfectly normal to feel nervous about change and a combination of nervous and excited to go back to school. And that we can handle that together by just making a plan and following that where we take some steps to prepare.”
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