5 Tips to Decrease School Anxiety
Some things are completely out of our hands like global pandemics and school planning. These things may make you want to pull your hair out, or maybe it’s just me the control freak. We spend so much my time worrying about things that we have no control over which in turn causes anxiety. This also applies to our children as well, especially when these anxieties are topics of conversation in our daily lives. Let’s see if you have worried about any of the below questions in the last month? (please see me raising my hand) You are not alone!
How long will this pandemic last?
What about flu season coming up?
When will the kids be able to go back into the physical school building?
(These things we can not control)
So, as we approach the back to school season, let’s focus on things we can control so we can help decrease our anxiety. Free Tip: By working on our decreasing anxiety, we can help decrease our children’s. As the worry creeps in, let’s reroute it with truth. No, we may not know what this next season will look like with school buildings, but we can still create some schedule and routine for our days at home. We may not know how long this pandemic will last, but we can do our part by wearing a mask when we are out.
Put your focus where it matters, on things you can control.
Our words
Our actions
Our attitude
(These things we can control)
5 Tips to Decrease School Anxiety
Get prepared. We still needs school supplies working at home. Involve the kids in picking out new school supplies. New pencils, new markers, new notebooks will help interject some normalcy into the kiddos mindsets.
Create a morning routine. The predictability of the routine makes children feel safe. Set a wake up time for everyone, have breakfast together, and get dressed for the day. You might not be able to do all the things every morning, but start with one anchor to your day so there is some predictability.
Keep it Positive. Make your conversations about school (home, virtual, or at school) positive. Listen our kids don't need any more negative chatter about this whole situation. They are anxious enough. And frankly, we don't either. One hop on Facebook and you can get enough negativity for a lifetime. If you have concerns, talk to a trusted, truth seeking friend away from your kids. Ask teachers questions with a tone of “how can I help?”. Stop the negativity, its not helping anyone!
Ask your children how they are feeling. Sometimes we believe the less said, the better. Well, sometimes that is true. But we all need a safe place to discuss these changes. For our children, one of those places should be home with us.
Remember we can do hard things! We have been doing new, hard things since we brought these babies home. We must keep bringing it back to God knew we would be parents at this time. He knew what ages our kids would be. He knew what our jobs would look like during this season. He knew and He knows what will come of all this. So let’s trust that He will equip and empower us to walk through this season.
Love, B
