How Siouxlanders can deal with back-to-school anxiety

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)– While it’s common for kids to get anxious for the upcoming school year, if left unchecked, it can impact their academics.

“It’s a mixed bag,” Nathan Phillips with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Sioux City said. “So I hear a lot of excitement, right, everyone’s excited to see their friends, everyone’s excited to get back into the swing of things. But there’s also a little bit of trepidation, you know, they’re nervous about, what’s math look like this year?”

For many, that anxious feeling fades away. For others, it stays, which can harm a student’s education.

“It definitely impacts their achievement and their just overall well-being,” Lexa Meehan with Harney Elementary School said. “And maybe their behavior, too, because they’re just anxious.”

“It can have an effect upon those social engagements that they’re all like, so nervous about to begin with,” Phillips said.

Teachers and counselors can help reassure kids that everything’s okay during school.

“Some of the ones that are nervous, I just try to remind them that we’re here,” Meehan said. “I’m here to listen to them, that that’s open communication. Their anxieties and their nervousness are normal and a lot of their friends are also just as scared as they are.”

However, it’s also up to parents to help students get into a new schedule for school and tell them everything will be okay.

“For parents, I always recommend setting some sort of routine,” Meehan said. “I think school can be a big adjustment after a long break, so if they can start having a routine at home with regular bedtimes, regular mealtimes, having that consistency every day, they can even have their child help them plan those routines. So they have a sense of responsibility and control, and then reinforcing that at home.”

“Be a thermostat, not a thermometer,” Phillips said. “We don’t want to reflect the emotions that our kids are displaying. We want to set that tone. And I know it seems really simple, right? But a lot of times the kids, they don’t know how to like push our buttons and/or we are anxious for them. But if we can notice, okay, that’s the anxiety that they’re feeling, I can pull myself back. It’s just going to set a better tone for them.”

If your child’s anxiety isn’t improving, Phillips recommends reaching out to an expert for advice.

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