By Jennifer Fiorillo
Mental Health
Jennifer Fiorillo
The start of a new school year can be a welcome time for both children and parents. For many kids, going back to school provokes anxiety that will often fade after a short period of time as they adjust to a new schedule and their surroundings. For some children, the start of the school year brings a more significant amount of stress and anxiety that could have a serious impact on how the rest of the year plays out.
Parents and caregivers can take several steps to prepare kids for the transition before school actually starts. These may include visiting the school before the first day, practicing walking in and out of classrooms, spending time inside the classroom if the building is open and arranging play dates with peers or classmates. These steps can help to reduce some of the anxiety related to adjusting to new surroundings and people. Parents should also take the time to listen and acknowledge concerns their children might express before starting school and help their children to navigate strategies that will help alleviate stress.
How do you know when anxiety from school becomes problematic? There may be cause for concern if a child begins to display difficulty getting along with others, avoids activities in and out of school, experiences headaches, stomachaches or throws tantrums when separating from parents to attend school. If the situation escalates to a level where the child is refusing to attend school, it’s important to gauge how strongly they resist, how much of the distress is associated with what’s happening in the school and the impact that refusing to attend school is having on the child.
Extreme refusal to attend school can eventually lead to a lag in learning and make it harder to adjust. Compound this lag with the delays that resulted from remote learning and social isolation from the COVID pandemic, and we may be faced with much more serious mental health concerns. If you’re seeing signs of anxiety in your child, be sure to communicate with your child’s teacher or the school psychologist about the behaviors you are seeing at home so that you can all work together to find ways to help your child adjust.
There are some children who might be more likely to experience a higher level of stress and prolonged anxiety when it’s time to go back to school. These include children who already have separation anxiety and are afraid to leave their parents, children who have experienced bullying and children with an undiagnosed learning disability. In situations like these and those described earlier, it might be a time to consult with a mental health professional for an evaluation and consultation to work with the family to understand and resolve symptoms or possibly discuss medication as an option if necessary.
While going back to school can be an exciting time for many parents and kids, it can also be a stressful one for others who struggle with deeper issues requiring a higher level of intervention. The good news is that parents and caregivers aren’t alone in trying to resolve these issues. With the increasing presence of clinical support in school systems and acceptance that mental health is a key component of one’s overall health, it is becoming easier to start the conversation and access necessary resources.
Jennifer Fiorillo, MBA, MPH is the president and CEO of Bridges Healthcare in Milford, and may be reached at Jfiorillo@bridgesmilford.org.