Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.
Back to school blues, it really is a thing! The new school year brings a new set of anxieties for children; a more gruelling academic year ahead, awkward social situations, a new teacher or maybe even a new school. It’s all very stressful for kids, and their parents, so here are some tips from a co-curricular school in London to help them get through it.
Fortunately, children are typically very resilient and tolerant to change. Once they get back into the swing of things everything will fall back into place and their emotions will calm down. That doesn’t stop them feeling nervous as the end of the summer holidays looms. For younger kids, it’s worth practising the morning routine in the run up to their first day back. Get them back into a healthy sleeping pattern and keep things nice and organised. Make sure you have all of the supplies ready in advance, such as uniform and stationery. The more prepared and in control your child feels, the more comfortable they will be.
Preparation also comes in the form of you chatting to your child about their first day back as much as you can. Let them get their emotions off their chest, because bottling it up won’t do them any good. Plus, the more you understand how your child is feeling, the easier it will be to help them. When talking to them about school, use enthusiastic language and tone of voice to help them feel a little more positive about the situation.
Essentially, your child needs to know that they are safe, that you understand what they’re going through and that you will support them through the transition. If you are truly worried about your child’s anxiety, it might be worth speaking to a teacher about how you can help; they can let you know an outline of the curriculum so you can start to work on it at home and show your child that it’s really not that scary after all.
