Back-to-school anxiety hits students as NSW lifts lockdown

Experts say parents can help students alleviate anxiety about returning to the classroom. We reveal some tips to help kids adjust to going back to school.

Back-to-school anxiety is rife among children, with experts warning parents and teachers to expect big feelings from their little people.

Northern Beaches specialised kids coach Georgie Furze said 95 per cent of her young clients were worried about going back to school.

“So many children have become massively disassociated in lockdown and have lost a lot of self-confidence and communication skills,” the 29-year-old said.

“Children are anxious about friendships, a lot have lost connection with their usual friends or group.”

Child psychologist Kimberley O’Brien, from the Quirky Kid Clinic, said play-based learning around hygiene habits was also important, with health anxiety making kids fear ­exposure to Covid.

“Kids can think the worst-case scenario would be that someone at school gets infected and then everyone gets infected and it’s going to spread and close down schools really quickly,” Dr O’Brien said.

“Some kids have a fear of death or dying, some kids aren’t sleeping.

“We often see a lot of school refusal just after a lockdown where kids don’t want to go back and parents question whether they should continue home schooling and keep them safe at home. But it’s important for them to get back to a social situation and feel like they don't have to hide away from it all.”

Parenting coach Helena Mooney is working with son George to get him ready to return to school again from Monday. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Psychotherapist Georgina Manning said every child will respond differently going back to school.

“They may have thoughts and questions such as: ‘Will everyone be wearing masks? Do I get to do my normal fun activities? Will it be safe? Will I catch Covid from others?’,” said the educator and director of Wellbeing For Children. “Getting kids prepared early will help. Kids thrive on routine as it makes them feel safe and secure. Often, once children get back, they start to feel better once they see their friends and settle into a classroom routine.”

Parenting coach Helena Mooney said kids were nervous about changes to pre-Covid classroom etiquette and possibly distressed by not being able to play with their friends in different cohorts or classes.

“When kids are anxious, they can feel really powerless and then that can cause them either to become inwardly anxious or outwardly explosive, so one of the big things to do is just do some one-on-one attention,” she said.

Family therapist and doctor Libby Aitken, author of Let’s Talk About Anxiety, said it was important for parents to stay calm and know normal life will soon return.

“As parents, we can feel some anxiety too, but it’s important for us to stay calm and know this phase will pass, and we will be back to a familiar life soon.”

Pymble mother of two Alicia Potts said her five-year-old son, Jasper, was in kindy and learning from home had been a real challenge.

“My son is really anxious about going back to school. Because he has only had two terms at school, he feels like he doesn’t have any real friends yet and he’s anxious to go back because of all the unknowns,” she said.

“Many things will be different when he returns to school; for example, some students will be wearing masks and he won’t be able to play with kids from other years, including his ‘buddy’.

“He basically says he’s not going back, he never wants to go back to school, which is going to make Monday morning really difficult.”

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Originally published as Back-to-school anxiety hits students as NSW lifts lockdown