With school starting in just a few weeks, a local child psychologist said that the back-to-school transition can be tough for some children.
Psychologist Beth Tucker said new classmates and a new teacher may cause children anxiety and uncertainty. Tucker also said routine changes may also contribute to a child struggling to transition back to school.
“They’ve had all this freedom all summer, staying up late watching tv, playing, and doing all of those things, and now they have to go on a sleep schedule,” Tucker said. “And sometimes that leads to moodiness, and they are a little more tired than normal, and also like, they’ve gone from pretty much unstructured days now that they are back in class, structured, sitting at a desk, so that causes some sort of routine shock.”
Tucker said not wanting to go to school or seemingly being in a down mood the first few days of school are early signs that a child is struggling to transition. Tucker said having conversations with your child and also starting the school routine before school starts are ways parents can better transition their child back to school.
“Nobody wants to be upset and frustrated on the first day of school,” Tucker said, “That’s not a good day for the parent, that’s not a good day for the kid if everybody is frustrated. So helping them plan ahead, you know, laying their clothes out the day before. Getting them started now on their sleep schedule, so it’s not like the day of, oh, we have to go to bed early, oh, we have to wake up early, but really helping them be prepared for success.”
Tucker said a child being calm or talking about school with excitement are signs that a child has transitioned back to school. However, Tucker said the transition does happen overnight.
“Usually, it takes, I would say, about two to three weeks for the routine to start to help them settle into their routine, their sleep schedule, the expectations,” Tucker said. “Sometimes with younger kids, kindergarten and first grade, they are still new to school in general, so sometimes it takes about a month.”
Tucker said parents should give their children time to transition and be patient as more temper tantrums or clinginess may come during the transition. Tucker said after a month, if a child is still struggling to transition, then a therapist or counselor may be needed.