ORLANDO, Fla. – On Breakfast with Bridgett, Shantala Boss, a licensed mental health counselor from Boss Wellness, talked about easing back to school related anxiety. She had several tips for parents on helping prepare children to have a positive start to the school year and all the situations that can trigger a variety of feelings.
“A lot kids are mostly nervous a lot of times about peers, who they’re gonna see, if their friends are gonna be in their class, or maybe that ‘bully’ they had last year. How are they going to handle that? They just want reassurance and to talk about it, come up with plans for how to set boundaries in certain situations. And as they’re getting older, they’re having a lot of anxiety about workload or if they’re going to be able to handle a certain teacher or what their expectations are,” Boss said. “So we don’t have all answers going into school. I know we have meet teacher, so just kind of normalizing those things, talking to them about it. Kids want to know they’re going to be OK. Like we said earlier, if parents are calm, and collected, and even excited, the kids will follow suit. The first day they might have a little jitters, but they’re gonna come back and be excited to talk about it.”
In addition to fostering open and positive communication, Boss noted that parents can give kids a smoother start by getting kids back into their bedtime and morning routines now.
They also feel more prepared and at ease by finding their classrooms, meeting the teacher and organizing their supplies well ahead of time.
Bridgett also asked Boss about the signs of severe anxiety, behavioral and attention deficit issues with school-age children. Boss says a licensed counselor can help identify the sources and triggers of these issues as well as guide families on the best routes for treatment.
Watch the full interview at the top of this story.
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