Start now to avoid school anxiety
Heading back to the classroom can cause stress for many students. The key is getting back into routines well in advance.
For some kids, the first day of school brings anticipation and excitement. For others, the feelings are harder to quantify. New surroundings, social situations and challenges can stimulate a wide range of emotions that sometimes need more attention than a hug or a trip to the store for shiny new school supplies.
Attending school for the first time, starting a new school, or entering a new level of school (highschool, college or university) are all moments of transition, and transitions, even those that are eagerly anticipated, can present challenges for both students and their families.
Dr. Jana Davidson, psychiatrist in chief at B.C. Children’s Hospital, said back-to-school anxiety is not uncommon, but varies by age and can manifest differently whether the child has a diagnosed mental health disorder or not.
“For children who are entering school for the first time, kindergarten or preschool, anxiety is normal and typical, but it comes with excitement as well,” Davidson said.
Advance preparation is key to helping families effectively manage the transition. Getting a child back into a routine around sleeping, eating and regularizing their routine a couple of weeks in advance of school starting is a first step toward a successful back-to-school transition, Davidson said.
Building familiarity and interest in advance is another preparation tool. If your child is attending school for the first time, talk about what to expect and go by the school to familiarize your child with the schoolyard.
“You could even do a practice run at how they are going to get to school. Look at the playground. If they know what it looks like, that can be very helpful,” Davidson said.
“Most children handle the transition relatively well.”
Some children will have more difficulties, but often these issues won’t arise immediately. Davidson advises parents to watch for changes in behaviour that persist for more than a couple of weeks. Changes in behaviour might be a child who is more clingy and tearful than usual, who isn’t tolerating separation from parents, or who is having temper tantrums.
“Some kids manage the first few days and then the anxiety starts to build, and those kids might start to refuse to go. Sunday nights become difficult in terms of getting that child to bed; teary episodes, complaints of tummy aches or headaches in the morning can often be a signal.”
Davidson cautions that the behaviour is significant only if it is consistent or persists for longer than two weeks.
Parents are important partners in dealing with back-to-school anxiety in children. “With first presentation our approach is more about working with the parents and helping parents develop skills to help their child manage the anxiety,” Davidson said.
The transition from elementary school to high school is another momentous life transition.
“They are going from being the big fish to being again the youngest in school, which is a transition. Kids don’t always transition to the same high school as their friends. Expectations on kids in high school really change. Kids go from primarily being in one classroom, with one teacher, with everything in their desk, to any number of classes, a locker, a number of teachers, so it’s a pretty big adjustment,” Davidson said.
When anxiety gets in the way this transition can be harder to manage.
Mental health doesn’t discriminate across socio-economic boundaries, cautioned Davidson, although issues such as housing security, economic insecurity and family breakdowns add stressors that can contribute to mental health concerns.
Among teenagers, parents should watch for any marked change in behaviour that persists for several weeks — a struggle to sleep, withdrawing socially, less interest in activities they once enjoyed, spending less time with the family or struggling with the demands of schoolwork.
For families of older teens who are hitting their early independent years, challenges might be different: Your teen might not want your help, might read your questions as intrusive or as an expression of a lack of confidence in their abilities. They might want to try to handle whatever they are facing on their own.
“We know based on data, for high school students, that the number one place people go for help — 95 per cent — is their peers. The next level that kids go to is family. Professionals rank under that,” said Davidson, adding that isolated youth are more vulnerable.
The Kelty Mental Health Centre in Vancouver is a free, provincewide resource centre for parents, youth and families that has developed a youth and parent peer program to help families facing challenges, including those related to school transitions and adjustments.
Located at B.C. Children’s Hospital, the centre provides resources on everything from anxiety to eating disorders and substance abuse issues, and can provide resources and support by phone or email.
Mary McCracken is a parent-in-residence at the Kelty centre, and works as a “wayfinder” for parents and youth who may be dealing with anxiety or other behavioural or emotional challenges and don’t know where to turn.
In addition to clinical staff and counsellors, Kelty has two parents-in-residence and two youth-in-residence.
“We are not clinicians,” McCracken said, “but everyone who works in this program has personal experience, or family members that have been touched by mental health issues.
“We can be a lifeline and provide that non-judgmental support because we’ve been there, we know what it’s like to be a parent or a kid that wants help but doesn’t know what to do.”
Calls from concerned parents during the transition to school are normal, McCracken said.
She said when parents describe anxiety, they might not use that word. Instead they may be asking about meltdowns in the classroom or frequent visits to the sick room.
Sometimes the change is more subtle. Their child might simply be withdrawing.
“Quiet kids can slip through the cracks because they are not being disruptive,” McCracken said.
“When kids are feeling anxiety they often can’t even put words to it; they might just say they’re not feeling well.”
For older kids, McCracken said the mindfulness app Mindshift and the cognitive therapy app Stresslr are popular.
“Kids can put their earbuds in and use them to calm down, but it looks like they’re listening to music,” McCracken said.
The transition from high school to college or university can also be stressful, as kids are aged out of youth programs and often want to break free of parental influence.
Davidson said ages 16 through 20 are of special concern, as that is when the onset of many major mental health concerns occur.
“You get a real big increase in presentation, and oftentimes the transition out of high school is a challenge for kids.”
Even among kids who are very clear about what their next steps are — whether to college, university, a trade program or work — transitions can be a challenge.
“We know that for kids that are entering first-year university, that first year is tough, especially if they are living away from home,” Davidson said.
Aging out of home means taking responsibility for all the pillars of mental and emotional health, managing your own sleep, food and social activities in addition to a new environment and a heavy workload.
Davidson said the appearance of “sub-syndromal” mental health issues is quite high among firstyear university students. “Kids that are not meeting full criteria for a diagnosable mental health disorder such as major depression may have some symptoms — their mood is low, their interest is waning, they might be having some sleep difficulties while other things are still intact.”
Davidson advised to watch for signals such low mood, waning interest in studies or hobbies and difficulty sleeping. Maintaining contact with family is important, but even more challenging: Don’t hover or be a helicopter parent, but let your kids know you are there.
“It’s a time when young people are wanting to stretch their wings,” Davidson said.
For all age groups: Leave the door open for communication. Let them know you are concerned, available to talk. Let them know there are resources at the university to help them if they need assistance. “Just be that conduit, that touchstone.”