Preparing Your Child for the Upcoming School Year and Preventing School Anxiety:
Starting back to school can be stressful for children of all ages. Your child has settled into their routine of summer fun and switching into back-to-school mode can be arduous and cause “school anxiety”. However, there are steps you can take to help your child make a smooth transition into the new school year.
First, talk to your child about any concerns they have about the new school year. Remind them they are not the only one who is apprehensive. Children are often amused to discover teachers also get nervous when meeting a new class of students.
Here are a few questions which can serve as conversation starters for your child:
“What was the best part of your last school year?”
“What would have made last year better?”
“What could you do to make this year better?”
“What could Mom, Dad, and your teacher do to help you have good year?”
Try to avoid questions such as, “Are you worried about____?” Questions like this can put fearful thoughts into a child’s head, that otherwise might not have been there.
Also, older children hear many warnings about the academic pressures of middle school and high school. It helps to remind them the teacher will review the past year’s learning and add to the new expectations gradually.
Other ideas to get your child off to a good start:
It will be helpful for your child to see familiar faces when walking into a new classroom. Encourage your child to keep in touch with their friends over the summer and help them to schedule play dates.
The week or so before school starts, talk about the basic schedule of the school day, this will make the first day more familiar and less scary. Children do better if they know what to expect. When children can predict what’s coming next, they feel competent and are much more likely to cooperate. So, rather than springing new rules on them, develop a routine and stick with it.
Get your child back on his or her sleep schedule and regular routine by sending them to bed earlier. Create a plan for successful studying and create a permanent work space for homework. Set a TV/electronics rule that limits these until homework is finished. One or two weeks before school begins, start rolling bedtime back to their school schedule. Begin slowly, waking your child up 15 minutes earlier every day, and sending them to bed 15 minutes earlier each night, until they are back on their school-day schedule.
In regard to teenagers, it is a pain to spend money on their school clothes, only to be told after the first week of school that no one is wearing A anymore and everyone is wearing B. So, your child refuses to wear A and pouts until they get B.
Avoid all the drama and go shopping after the first week of school. Give your teen a chance to check out what other kids are wearing before you drop big bucks on jeans and shoes.
And finally, consider taking your child to school on the first day. Find out about the policy for parents walking children into the classroom and how long you can stay. If you anticipate that your child will need extra time to adjust, talk to the teacher before school starts. If this is not necessary or possible, find another child in the neighborhood they can ride or walk with to school.
With just a little effort on your part, you can help your child enter their new school year with confidence and a sense of adventure.
See also: How Boarding School Can Help
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