If you feel like your child is experiencing anxiety and that some of these feelings may be related to school, this is worth a read.
A psychologist and mother who describes herself as a ‘former anxious kid’ says there are certain behaviours that parents should be aware of.
When you know what to look for, you are more equipped to step in and encourage your child to talk about what might be bothering them.
Dr. Sandra advises that there are certain signs that your child’s anxiety is hiding with them at school but ‘coming home with them every single day’.
She also says that there is one sign that kids often display when battling worries of this type but that parents often see it as them displaying an ‘attitude’.
Signs your child’s anxiety is ‘hiding at school’
The expert says that when ‘kids are more emotional at home than anywhere else’, it can lead mums, dads, guardians and caregivers to think that their children are acting out because they’re at home but in reality, it’s much more complex.
For many kids and teens, it might seem as though they are happier at the weekends, but on Sunday night everything shifts with the thought of school in the morning and this is an important indicator to be aware of.
She advises:
‘Their nervous system isn’t being difficult at home. For many kids home is just the place where they finally stop holding everything in’.
She says that for many kids, they are fine at school but it’s at home then that ‘everything falls apart’ and this can be a giveaway that they are dealing with school related anxiety.
Other things to look out for include how they decompress after school – when they look for silence or screen time and don’t want to talk, and if they are upset but can’t voice why only that they feel that something is wrong.
Dr Sandra also advises that the earlier kids know how to recognise this feeling, the better they can deal with it. The same applies to parents and it’s worth being attuned to these signs and looking out for them in your children.
‘The earlier they get the tools to work through anxiety during the day instead of just surviving it…the easier everything gets’.
The psychologist regularly shares tips and advice for parents on her Instagram account and says that these are the things she wishes her parents had known when she was a child. For example, she has shared 7 signs that your child is carrying more anxiety than you realise.
