Helping Your Child With Back to School Blues

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After months in lockdown, many schools across the UK are now starting to re-open their doors to certain students in some capacity. Whilst some children will be looking forward to returning to a normal schedule and seeing their friends, there are probably lots of children who are feeling very anxious or worried about a return. 

The adjustment will certainly be tough, particular with new safety measures in place, different class sizes and new schedules to get used to. So I have teamed up with an independent school in Richmond to offer some advice for dealing with ‘back to school blues’, whether that’s applicable now or in a few months’ time when children may be starting new schools or heading back for the first time in September. 

If your youngster has been enjoying some late nights during lockdown, it will take them some time to readjust to the early morning routine. With that said, it’s probably wise to encourage some earlier bedtimes in the run up to them returning to school so that it doesn’t come as much of a shock to the system, especially if they are used to getting up a little later in the morning and are suddenly being woken by an alarm nice and early! Even just making bedtime 15 minutes earlier a few days at a time can help ease everyone back into a better routine for school bedtimes and earlier mornings. They’ll probably protest but be sure to stand your ground; it’ll be worth it in the long run and after a few weeks into the routine it will seem completely normal. 

Another thing we can all try to get our child all excited about returning to school is promoting and using positive attitude and thoughts towards going back to school as much as possible. Remind them how nice it will be to see their friends and have a change of scenery. Ask them to think about all the things they have missed since being home and how they will get to tell you about all the fun they have had when they return home. Also, you could invest in some new school supplies, like a pencil case an new stationery so that they can looking forward to using their new things. If they are returning now for a few weeks these can also be used come September. If you do decide to do this though it is worth checking with your school it is ok as some schools are asking you not to bring in bags or pencil cases etc unless absolutely necessary. 

You should also find some time to have a chat with your child and find out if there’s anything in particular that’s making them anxious about school. They might have been struggling with a particular subject or maybe even a bullying issue that is causing them to worry about returning. If you can figure out what might be causing their anxiety, you’ll be able to tackle the problem as soon as possible. Remind your child that what they’re feeling is normal and that many of their friends probably feel the same way. You could also reiterate to them all the great steps schools are putting in place to keep them safe and how this will help as this in itself can be very reassuring for kids. 

How are you and your child feeling about a return to school? 

xXx


**This is a collaborative post.**