When summer comes to an end and your children have to return to school, they can sometimes feel some anxiety. You may consider purchasing some over the counter children’s anxiety meds to help them, but you should also review other strategies to help your children. Consider these tips.
Talk About Their Concerns
One of the best ways you can help your children through back-to-school anxiety includes talking to them. Encourage them to tell you all about their worries and why they feel this way. Really listen to what they have to say. Ask questions for clarification and give them assurances that you understand.
You can share your experiences from when you were a child going through the same things. Be open about what you did to help overcome your anxieties. Then, make sure they know that you are there for them no matter what. Encourage them to come talk to you whenever they feel worried. However, be proactive and ask your children about their days and challenges as well.
Validate Their Feelings
If your children experience significant anxiety, OTC anxiety medication may be a tool, but you can also help by validating their feelings. Whether they are rational or not, they are feelings your children have, and these little ones will feel strongly about them. They may have concerns about their new teachers, making friends and getting good grades. Your job as their parent is to listen.
Teach Your Children About Anxiety
You should also teach your children about anxiety and other challenges they may face. Explain that just because they think something will happen does not mean it will. Explain the three parts of anxiety: fearful thoughts, physical reaction and avoidance actions. Then show them that when they avoid these situations, they often reinforce the fear and anxiety. However, make sure you reveal this in an age-appropriate manner.
Tell them about anxiety and ADHD symptoms in 5 year old or in their age group. Then, if they start feeling this way, they know what’s happening. Sometimes, the physical reaction can increase their anxiety if they don’t understand why they feel that way.
Help Develop Coping Strategies
Once your children get their feelings out, you should help them find coping mechanisms. Teach them deep breathing and mindful techniques for when they are inside the classroom. However, you should also teach them that often physical activity can diminish these symptoms quickly.
Encourage your children to challenge their worries. Positive self-talk is a great tool because they can tell themselves that they can handle the situation or that the fear is unfounded.
Create a Rewards System
Like any other success, you should celebrate your children’s wins, especially when they overcome fears. Give them encouragement and incentive to identify their triggers and implement their coping mechanisms. When they do this at school, a reward should immediately follow the school day. The reward doesn’t have to be anything expensive or big, just something meaningful to your child.
You can later stretch your rewards to one week, month, etc. as your children begin to get a hold of their anxieties.
As you prepare yourself and your children for the school year, consider these strategies to help them deal with any anxiety they may feel.
