Children who suffer from adolescent anxiety can have a hard time with school; those feelings can creep in and affect their performance in class, their ability to socialize, and their testing skills. It can also lead to their involvement in negative coping mechanisms. It’s important to help your child find easy ways to cope with anxiety when they’re away from home, such as doing deep breathing exercises to help get focused. Boosting your child’s self-confidence will go a long way toward helping her find the strength to get through those anxious feelings when you’re not around to help.
Here are some of the best ways to help your child cope with anxiety in school.
Get organized
Being unorganized can really affect a child, especially at school. By the middle of the school year, her backpack is probably stuffed full of papers, half-filled notebooks, broken pencils, and homework that doesn’t have a chance at not becoming creased and messy. Help your child get organized and stay that way by cleaning out her backpack every couple of weeks. It might be a good idea to buy a few extra folders and pencils at the beginning of the school year and put them aside so you can change them out later. If she doesn’t already have a planner, buy one that she can write her assignments in, and make sure you check it every night to help her stay on task.
Mornings are always a hectic time for kids, so it may be helpful to start an evening routine in which you and your child pick her outfit for the next day (complete with socks and shoes) and lay out her backpack, coat, hat, and anything else she’ll need. Buy quick, easy breakfast items such as microwavable sausage biscuits or toaster pastries so she can grab one and go.
Learn coping techniques
When anxiety strikes, it can feel like there’s no way out of it. Help your child learn coping techniques that she can apply at school, such as deep breathing exercises (which can be learned through meditation and yoga and can help focus and concentration) and how to narrow her thoughts to a comforting place. This can help her get through those scary moments, especially if the anxiety tends to come all at once rather than building up.
Do some research
Anxiety and stress are caused by many different factors and have many various symptoms, including some which are physical: sweating, dizziness, feeling shaky or nauseous. It’s a good idea to do some research and find out exactly what your child is suffering from; it may be necessary to seek counseling or therapy.
Help your child practice self-care
Self-care can go a long way toward helping your child feel good, both inside and out, so it’s important to find the best ways for her to relax and stay healthy. Eating a well-balanced diet, getting daily exercise, and sleeping at least eight hours every night can really help give your child a good start.
It’s also a good idea for your child to find ways to wind down each day after school with a quiet activity or a nap. Play some classical music and let her relax a bit before homework, chores, and dinner.
It’s not easy to see your child go through the troubles that come with anxiety, but there are things that can be done to ease the suffering. Take some time to help them feel better.