Supporting Children With School-based Anxiety!
If you didn’t already know, at Quigg Counselling & Therapy we treat adolescents & children ! Something I see often, especially in elementary aged children, is the development of anxiety surrounding school. Most parents are familiar with the first-day-of-school or back-to-school stress and anxiety in their children, and while the height of the anxiety is usually anticipatory anxiety surrounding the first day, most children who experience back-to-school anxiety will experience anxiety from other stressors throughout the school year. By properly supporting and educating children on how to deal with back-to-school anxiety, they will be better prepared to manage the top three major stressors they will feel throughout the year!
The top three major stressors for children when it comes to school are:
Schoolwork
Peers
Performance
Before we get into the different techniques and strategies to help children manage anxiety, it’s important to discuss with your child what anxiety is - most importantly externalizing the anxiety! By externalizing and naming the anxiety, this helps your child understand that they are not the anxiety and that you are teamed up with them in battling the anxiety!
Now there are many different techniques and strategies to practice with your children when supporting them in feelings of anxiety towards school, here are four of my favourites:
Roll Playing: Try roll playing different situations with your child! This can include conversations with their peers surrounding friendships and disagreements, or with teacher surrounding performance and schoolwork. This can reduce your child’s anticipatory anxiety towards these potential future conversations by helping them feel better prepared to have them.
Exposure: Exposure is definitely key - and not just in preparation for the first day of school! Your child may also have feelings of anxiety towards an upcoming school event or activity. Arranging a visit or showing up early to familiarize them with the environment can help reduce their anticipatory anxiety!
Routine & Preparation: Whether before the first day of school or returning from a Holiday break, getting your child back into a routine and involving them in the routine (such as lunch packing & laying out their outfit) can help empower your child to feel more prepared to return to school!
Relaxation Practices: It’s never too early to introduce relaxation practices with your child. This can include practicing mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation, even YOGA! Introducing these practices to your child early on in life can support healthy stress/anxiety management throughout the rest of their life!
While these are great tips and tricks to support your child in their battle against anxiety, one of the most effective forms of treatment comes from clinical Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). At Quigg Therapy, we specialize in CBT treatment - if you are interested in learning more about CBT therapy for your child, please don’t hesitate to call us at (902) 488-9762 or email us at info@quiggtherapy.com!