With each passing day, the end of summer and the beginning of school are getting closer and closer.
Students will start to think about all of the new aspects the semester will bring, and could be feeling anxious and stressed about situations that are out of their control.
“They’re scared of the unknown,” explained Alena Thompson, mental health navigator for the Bonnyville Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic. “They’re not sure who’s going to be in their classroom, who’s not going to be in their class, what their teachers are going to be like, what the demands will be, what they’re going to be good at, what they’re going to be bad at, and just that worry about not meeting expectations.”
One of the ways to address those feelings is to get kids into a routine by mid-August, and that includes their sleeping schedule.
Within the first couple of weeks of the new school year, Rhonda Miron, family outreach worker at Dr. Bernard Brosseau School, notices some students are tired because they’re not used to getting up early.
“If parents could start getting routines set-up for their children, even a week or two before school starts… that will reduce some stress for the kids and the parents,” she said.
Grace MacLellan, director of learning, inclusive education, and community supports for Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS), agreed.
“Strategically planning as a mom, dad, and family that you don’t wait until the night before to put them to bed at 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. You start looking at gradually implementing that and what that can be… for two weeks ahead of school just to get back into that nighttime routine of reading and settling in.”
Creating dialogue about what your child is feeling and it’s okay to talk about it was another suggestion.
“Parents certainly need to acknowledge their kids are going to be nervous, and it will take a few days to get over it,” Thompson detailed. “But, just to watch and make sure they come back to their normal, that they don’t wallow in that fear, and not putting themselves out there because they’re afraid of being seen, or talked to, or somebody treating them different.”
One way of helping a student feel more comfortable at their new school is to pick a time to get them familiar with their surroundings and how they will be getting back and forth from school each day.
“That’s why it’s never a bad thing for parents to bring their kids in the week before school to see where their classroom is, meet their teacher, and just kind of deal with or talk about some of the fears they might be having before starting the new school year,” Miron noted.
MacLellan added, “You can actually set an appointment to see where their locker’s going to be and where their classroom is going to be. That can reduce a lot of stress for a child because it’s real to them. Just like we might have stress or anxiety about something, having those conversations, ‘are you nervous about that?’ and what that could look like. Good stress is okay some times, it really helps us to develop resiliency.”
Getting back to school shopping done, and setting everything up the week before will help eliminate apprehension surrounding a new school year.
Ensuring a student has support is a crucial step for success. Parents are encouraged to reach out to staff at the youth’s school about underlying mental health concerns and the best practices to address them.
“If there’s a new teacher that doesn’t know the student, parents (should) let the school staff know what might be going on and what concerns they may have, because most teachers are open to working with parents and helping the kids transition smoothly into the new school year with whatever might be going on with your child,” Miron explained.
