Schools across North Texas have opened their doors to students in recent weeks — a big event that can bring both excitement and anxiety to parents and students alike.
Mental health experts recently chimed in with advice on how to best navigate the common stressors that pop up once kids step back into the classroom.
“A lot of parents and kids, whatever the ages, feel that they are the only one that feels as if they are nervous, worried, anxious, reluctant — but I think if you go to most kids and most parents, everyone feels something with the return of school,” explained Jennifer Kelman, a licensed clinical social worker and mental health expert, in an interview with CBS News.
One of the primary causes of unease when the new school year begins is the shift in the day-to-day routine.
As Jessica Gomez, a clinical psychologist and youth mental health specialist, suggested in an interview with CBS News, the best way to manage this change as a family is through planning and communication.
“Don’t have a plan the Sunday before Monday starts — that’s going to be really hard for everyone to pivot, and you’re not really setting yourself up for the most success,” Gomez explained. “We all do better when we have clear expectations.”
This is especially important with younger children, who might benefit from lots of guidance and even practice runs in terms of the bus or drop-off and pickup lines.
“The younger the child, the more planning, practice and communication it takes,” Gomez said.
Ensuring that the back-to-school schedule allows for adequate sleep is also key to managing the shift.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, one study showed that getting just 39 minutes less of sleep at night can throw kids off, both physically and mentally.
Our sleep needs vary by age, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While newborns should sleep between 14 and 17 hours, this shifts to about 10 and 13 hours by age 5. School-aged children need between nine and 12 hours of sleep at night. Adults over the age of 18 need at least seven hours of sleep.
Social pressure also runs high when students go back to school.
As explained by Gomez, children are often stressed about whether they will be liked or will make any friends.
Placing them in social situations can allow them to practice and grow more confident with others.
“Give them as many opportunities to practice being a good friend, because those are learned skills,” Gomez says. “The more practice children have, the better they can be at navigating social skills, friendships and how to deal with bullying.”
Putting extra work into building children’s confidence in social settings is especially needed post-COVID-19, according to Gomez.
Lockdowns and online learning left some school-aged children not only lacking social skills but also coping mechanisms for managing their own emotions.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, educators have reported rising levels of classroom misbehavior. One survey found that 70% of respondents considered it to be worse now than in the fall of 2019.
Many teachers cited emotional outbursts, low motivation, fidgeting, and nonstop chatter, suggesting that the effects of remote learning, isolation, and stress during the pandemic three years ago are still taking a toll on America’s youth.
To manage children’s mental health needs when they are feeling stressed, Kelman recommended that parents avoid statements like “You’ll be OK,” “It won’t be so bad,” or “You’ll have lots of friends.”
Instead, she emphasized showing empathy and understanding for what a child might be going through, as well as opening a dialogue for discussion.
“I know it could feel scary… but I also know you to be strong and resilient. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow or the next day, and we’ll talk about everything and we’ll work through everything,” Kelman suggested saying.
“Be curious,” Gomez similarly proposed. “Ask more questions than giving lectures so that you get to find out what their experience is like at school.”
This might make children more comfortable raising difficult issues with adults, such as bullying.
A recent survey by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America revealed that 67% of kids polled said that when they face serious problems, they try to keep anyone from finding out.
Meanwhile, the survey also found that there has been an uptick in bullying over the last five years, with 40% of respondents saying they were bullied on school property in the past year and 18% experiencing cyberbullying.
Many young victims of bullying choose not to confide in an adult — 38% and 55% of the aforementioned respondents, respectively.
Finally, it is important to know when professional help is in order.
The Hopeful Futures campaign’s “America’s School Mental Health Report Card” found that among approximately 363,000 Texas children experiencing severe depression, 255,000 were not receiving treatment.
The report gave the state high marks for its school-family-community partnerships, but poor ones were given for the absence of mental health professionals at schools as well as life skills education for children.
