With the school holidays coming to an end, some children may feel anxious about returning to school.

We spoke to Anderson Neurological and Developmental Services’ psychologists about what you can do if your child feels anxious about the new school year. 

Q. Why might children be feeling anxious about going back to school? 

A. The main reason a child might feel anxious about returning to school is because they are dealing with an issue or have something in their life that is worrying them. 

A child may have learning difficulties or some kind of angst about returning to school because of bullying or a strict teacher, this can make returning to school nerve-wracking. 

Some children may have other types of stress in their life, and others may just feel anxious about going back after the fun and freedom of the holidays. 

Q. Will children's behaviour change if they are feeling anxious? 

A. Yes. We have a checklist that tells us if a child is experiencing anxiety or if it is going back to school nerves. 

Some children may show physical symptoms such as sweating, head aches, stomach pain, or they may not be eating or sleeping properly, or they may be bed wetting. 

Others may show emotional signs such as getting angry or irritated easily, or some children might pick arguments. It is usually related to something that is bothering them. 

Q. How can parents help children at home if they do feel anxious about going back to school? 

A. One way is for parents is to have a positive relationship with their child that fosters open communication, validation, security, trust and acceptance. Sit down with them and use child-friendly language, don't scare them or judge them. It's that message I'm here for you and I'm not going to judge you or tell you anything that is going to make you feel uncomfortable about the issue. We are just going to brainstorm some solutions. 

It's also about building up their stress-resilience and letting your child know we can't get rid of stress all the time, and that good stress equips us with skillsets we need in life. Educate your child that not all stress is bad and that we just need to learn how to cope with it. It is a good idea to include exercise or other things that can help a child destress. 

It is important to find out the source of the stress and include your child in some problem-solving techniques. If it is something about the school environment, can it be fixed or can something be done? For example, parents may need to engage a teacher or another party to help their child eliminate the source of stress. 

Once you understand the source of the stress, break it down to understand how best to deal with it. One of the best things you can do is help your child talk about those things and really express their feelings about what's going on so they have that cathartic process to try and talk about things. 

If a child is experiencing learning difficulties, special education support should be considered. There are lots of remedial supports available, a child shouldn't have to struggle or experience shame. Children can get immediate help and learn how to thrive despite those difficulties. 

Of course, exercise and activities that boosts their confidence add to a child’s positive self-esteem and that’s a known factor which builds up resilience skills. 

Q. What should parents do if their child continues to feel anxious after they've returned to school? 

A. If a child continues to feel any form of anxiety like nervousness, fearfulness, panic attacks or worry it could be a good idea to seek out a professional to get an assessment done. A screening could confirm it's nothing, or it might show that an intervention should be put in place. 

Q. What should parents do if they are feeling anxious about their children returning to school? 

A. Parents should take some time to pause, reflect and become self-aware about their own internal wellbeing and what’s causing them stress or anxiety.

If they think it is valid or there is a serious reason for their anxiety, a psychologist can help them with coping tools and mindfulness (or mindful awareness) such as breath work and deep breathing practices. Sometimes the real source of stress can be fixed and an intervention put in place.