The end of summer is in sight, and parents everywhere are feeling that inevitable anxiety over how to make the most of the upcoming school year. With that in mind, here are some dos and don’ts for families who want to start the school year right.
Childhood is full of new experiences that can feel scary to young kids. Think about learning to ride a bike or starting at a new school, for example. Kids with learning and attention issues may be even more likely than their peers to worry about school, social activities and change. And they may be more likely to develop anxiety. Do you think your preschooler or grade-schooler may be struggling with anxiety? Here are some signs you might see, according to John Piacentini, Ph.D., and Lindsey Bergman, Ph.D., experts from the UCLA Child Anxiety Resilience Education and Supports (CARES) Center. [...]
My son is anxious about going back to school, and the closer we get to the first day back, the worse it gets. He’s been acting out and throwing tantrums, saying he refuses to go. What can I do? Going back to school can be a stressful time for both parents and children. Starting a new school year can make kids nervous, especially if there will be changes from the previous year, such as a new school, new teachers or new peers. If your child seems very distressed about going back, here are some things to discuss with him. Find a [...]
Kids know how important reading is. They hear it from their parents and teachers starting at a very young age. So when kids with dyslexia struggle with that vital skill, it can create feelings of anxiety. In most cases, those feelings are passing and limited to situations that involve reading. That might be anything from reading a menu to taking notes for a book report. But sometimes, kids with dyslexia and other learning issues develop a bigger problem with anxiety. […]
When kids hit difficult problems — the seemingly insurmountable English essay, a math test that takes on epic proportions, social struggles that leave them feeling frustrated — it can be tempting to give up and resort to four words no parent ever wants to hear: “I can’t do it.” Kids need to be able to make the transition from ‘I can’t’ to the proactive ‘How can I?’ In order to thrive, kids need to be able to make the transition from the negative “I can’t” to the proactive “How can I?” To do that, they need to think about why they’re stuck, [...]
Stress is the reaction of the body and brain to situations that put us in harm’s way. The stressor may be a physical threat (e.g., a baseball coming quickly toward you) or a psychological threat (e.g., a worry or fear that you will make a mistake delivering your lines in a play or write a passage that won’t make sense to the reader). Stress, or more specifically, the stress response, is our body’s attempt to keep us safe from harm. It’s a biological and psychological response. When we’re under stress, the chemistry of our body and our brain (and, therefore, our [...]
