2025-2026 School Year Enrollment Now Open. Click Here
2025-2026 School Year Enrollment Now Open. Click Here
Are you worried that your child has more than a few butterflies about going back to school? The back-to-school season is a busy time filled with preparations for the upcoming school year. While you are focused on buying folders and pencils, your child might be developing anxiety about all the changes a new school year brings.
It is normal for children to experience some worry before starting a new year, but intense nerves can develop into anxiety. Back-to-school anxiety can lead to changes in behavior and academic performance, but there are strategies to help a child with anxiety about school if they are experiencing excessive stress.
At the beginning of each school year, your child must adapt to a new environment. They often return to school with a different teacher, classroom, schedule, and sometimes classmates than they are used to. Managing all of these changes can cause various anxiety disorders to appear.
Here are some of the most common types of anxiety in children:
Identifying an anxiety disorder in your child is the first step to helping them manage it. Anxiety can present itself in misleading ways, so it’s important to know the most common signs.
If you notice that your child is not completing their assignments on time, this may be a sign of anxiety. Anxiety affects academic performance by filling your child’s head with worry. Children are focused on their concerns rather than concentrating on their classes and schoolwork. Often mistaken for a learning disorder, falling behind in school can be caused by anxiety as well.
It may be surprising that anxiety can cause physical symptoms to appear. The autonomic nervous system reacts to threatening stimuli like stress, resulting in headaches, nausea, and abdominal pain. If your child often complains of physical pain following a stressful event and is otherwise healthy, anxiety might be the root of the problem.
Adults often attribute children’s tantrums and meltdowns to anger issues or behavioral problems. However, disruptive behavior and aggression can also be a symptom of anxiety. Children with anxiety experience a heightened sense of fear when confronted with stressful situations like embarrassment or separation from their parents. Without the tools to manage their anxiety, the fight mechanism in their brain may become activated, resulting in a fiery display of panic.
Other children manage their anxiety by avoiding stressful situations altogether. If your child avoids socializing with their classmates and shows disinterest in after-school programs, they might be experiencing social anxiety. Children are still learning how to process their emotions, so recognizing these behaviors in your child will help them get the support they need to manage their stress.
Sometimes, children can become so anxious that they refuse to attend school. These instances often follow a long vacation, an extended period of sick days, or the summer break. Your child may be nervous about returning to their old schedule, which some reassurance can remedy. Other times, children are reluctant to go to school for weeks or even months. They might visit the nurse’s office often and get sent home early regularly. To help your child feel comfortable attending school, take time to understand why they want to stay home. Talk to your child and their teacher to make sure they aren’t being bullied or trying to avoid a big test. Understanding why they are refusing to go can help you provide the necessary care to help them feel confident and happy at school.
It’s tough to watch your child struggle, not knowing how to deal with school anxiety. Ease their mind with these stress-relieving activities:
Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) provides a flexible online education that will meet your child’s unique needs. Our cyber charter school serves K-12 children with a customizable learning experience that is safe from bullying and other sources of anxiety that affect their academic performance.
We help reduce anxiety in children with a self-paced curriculum. Each child can progress at their own speed. We remove the intimidating social expectations that cause anxiety by bringing the classroom within the comfort of home. Our teachers welcome parental involvement to develop lessons that will promote the most progress for your child. CCA is a safe haven where children can overcome their anxiety and achieve social and academic success.
Contact us today to learn more about how CCA promotes a personalized, engaging, and safe learning environment online so your child’s mind can flourish.
2025-2026 School Year Enrollment Now Open. Click Here