Co-Regulating With Your Anxious Child in the New School Year

"Here we are again! It's September, and it's back-to-school season. This new "season" brings on new routines and... anxiety. For some children, the new year brings on excitement, and for others, it can trigger stress and even resistance to the new routine. This is especially true for our children, teens, and young adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD), learning differences, or anxiety."

"As parents, we can often get "lost" in the "what" needs to happen between the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year with school supplies, new sneakers, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. Our children sit with this impending change and often dread the new school year with all of its newness. What can we do to help our children through this transition?"

"Our kids are watching. If we can manage our stress and monitor our reactions, our children will use it as a reference point, and instead of worrying, they may be better able to adjust to the transition. That is, instead of mirroring our children's anxiety about the new school year, let's counteract it by finding ways to ease into the new school year."

Back-to-school transitions trigger anxiety for many children, teens, and young adults, particularly those with ADHD, learning differences, or anxiety. Parents often focus on logistics while children silently anticipate change and may dread the new routine. Caregivers who regulate their own stress and monitor reactions provide co-regulation that helps children feel safer and more capable. Changing parental language to promote regulation, planning ahead to avoid rushed mornings, and modeling calm behavior are practical strategies to ease the transition. Managing parental reactions counteracts children mirroring anxiety around homework, events, and extracurricular demands.

Read at Psychology Today