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Back To School: Courage for students
By: Becky
We're heading into a new school year, which can cause a great deal of anxiety. Stacey Stone from 'Afternoons with Johnny & Stacey' is a licensed professional counselor. She shares some strategies to help both students and parents navigate and make sense of such an unusual time. Stacey has a Masters Degree in Professional Counseling and is an LGPC in the state of MD with a private practice.
You can listen to the whole interview below as she addresses these questions:
- What is different about this return to school than in the past?
- What are kids experiencing and how can parents help them?
- What should a parent look for in their children's behavior?
- What has not changed about what kids face at school?
Stacey shares 7 steps parents can take to help kids ease into an unusual school year:
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Take incremental steps. Baby steps. Don’t force a big decision. Take little steps to get to that point.
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Talk about it! Don’t wait until the night before to discuss the ins and outs. Take the time to work out scenarios and formulate questions.
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Tread delicately with child who might be having a hard time. Now more than ever, your patience is needed and appreciated.
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Plan for extra time at drop off. Separation anxiety is a normal part of childhood.
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Start getting into a routine, chores and checklists. This can include something as simple as making a grocery list and including your children in the process or a checklist for chores so that children get into the practice of keeping track of what is expected of them.
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Practice Family Planning Meetings! Practice sharing the plans with the family much like a teacher would. It helps get that part of our kid's brains going again in that area.
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Practice lots of grace! For the kids, and for you too Mom and Dad!