Alleviating Back to School Anxieties

by Carol Grinage, volunteer contributor

It’s that time of year again when parents are excited because their children are returning to school; however, despite the relief parents may feel now that summer is over, children may not feel the same relief. Instead, children may feel anxiety.

For some children, returning to school is filled with the excitement of reuniting with friends from the previous school year and meeting new teachers. For other children, however, back to school causes a host of concerns.

The concerns that a child may experience can depend on the child’s age. Younger children or children attending school for the first time may experience concerns about being separated from a parent or another caregiver. Adolescent worries may involve social anxieties such as will they fit in and will they have the “right” clothes.

Concerns a child may have are:

• Who will be my new teacher?
• Will any of my friends be in my class?
• Will I fit in?
• Are my clothes okay?
• Will the other children be mean?

One of the best ways to alleviate or reduce some of these concerns is through preparation:

1. Make sure your child has the correct supplies for school. To do this, contact the school and/or the teacher to receive a supply list. Some schools will have prepared packets that they sell directly to parents, or they can provide a preferred store to purchase supplies. 
2. Take your child shopping for back-to-school clothes. Although you may be tempted to want to choose what your child wears for the first day of school, don’t. Let your child choose his/her own clothes. It is not necessary to purchase an entire wardrobe for back-to-school. For most children, the key clothing item is what they wear the first day of school. 
3. Discuss fears that your child may have. Fears are normal, and by addressing these fears, your child knows that back-to-school anxiety is something many children experience. 
4. Discuss the “what ifs.” Sometimes children are afraid of what could happen, such as what if I don’t like my teacher or what if my friends no longer like me. Discuss these issues and make a plan because a plan gives the child some semblance of control if something feared does occur. For example, if a child fear getting lost and not being able to find the bathroom, take the child to school and walk around and locate the bathrooms and the classroom.
5. Visit the school, meet the teacher, and plan the route to school. Make the school routine familiar so that when the first day of school rolls around, the routine will be familiar and not anxiety producing.
6. Focus on the positive aspect of returning to school. Ask your child to name three things that they look forward to with the return to school.
7. Prepare the night before. When the first day of school arrives, make sure that clothes and lunches and snacks are ready the night before. Make sure your child goes to bed early, eats a good breakfast and arrives early to school. Lastly, if possible, arrange for your child to go to school with a friend because there is strength in numbers.

As you help your child deal with back-to-school anxiety, remember that this anxiety is only temporary, and that within a few weeks, everyone will be back to the school year routine.  Good luck!

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Family, Children, Pets - they all need a plan!

As with any situation, being prepared is the key to survival. You wouldn’t go into a meeting without your presentation, you wouldn’t send your child to school without their school books, and you wouldn’t walk into a final exam without studying. You take such care making sure you and your family prepares for daily life, the same care should be taken to prepare for a disaster.

At home, develop a plan that the whole family knows and practice it regularly. In a tornado or severe weather, everyone needs to know where the safe room is. Practicing this drill is just as important as practicing your fire drill. When making your plan, include the following:

• A safe room in your home where household members and pets may gather during a tornado. This should be a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows. If no underground shelter or safe room is available, a small, windowless interior room or hallway on the lowest level of a sturdy building is the safest alternative.
• During a thunderstorm. This safe room should be away from windows, skylights and glass doors that could be broken by strong winds or hail.
• An emergency kit that includes the basic necessities you will need while waiting out the storm such as a weather radio, flashlight, extra batteries, water, non-perishable food, emergency blanket, and first aid kit.
• A plan for family pets to get them into a safe area. Make sure they have collars or identification on them in case they get out. If they are in the room with you make sure you have food and water for them as well as a leash or kennel to keep them secured.
• Each member of the family should have a list of emergency contacts and one out-of-area contact person should be designated since it may be easier to text or call long distance if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Everyone should have emergency contact information in writing or programmed into their cell phones.
• A safe meeting place. Not every disaster will happen when you and your family are all together in your home. After a disaster strikes make sure there is a safe meeting place established away from the neighborhood to meet up. Access to your home may be cut off, so you need a familiar place that everyone would be able to get to.

More useful tips and a checklist on what you can do to build a plan for your home and pets can be found at www.redcross.org.

Helpful Checklists from RedCross.org

• Thunderstorms (PDF)
• Tornadoes (PDF)
• Pet Safety (PDF)

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