Anxiety and stress among school-aged children have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to chronic absenteeism, and with the start of the new school year, kids and parents alike are likely struggling with a new wave of it all.
To detect it early, experts say parents should look for signs such as difficulty concentrating, nervousness or fidgetiness, sleep problems and persistent complaints of feeling unwell.
But New York-based positive psychiatrist Dr Samantha Boardman says there are ways to ease these fears.
Speaking to Fox News' Dana Perino on Tuesday, she detailed ways parents can help their children deal with negative feelings about returning to the classroom, starting with facing their fears.
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As children return to school, concerns have resurfaced about chronic absenteeism and mental health issues. (iStock)
“Being human is a risk factor for anxiety, and I think kids today hear that phrase a lot. [anxiety and stress] And they're using it. They say, 'I'm anxious, I'm stressed,' but the parent wants to preempt that and say, 'Do you want me to stop? How do I intervene on your behalf?' The result is avoidance, and avoidance begets avoidance,” says Boardman.
“We accept that the child is anxious and say, 'If you're anxious, you can talk to your teacher. You can talk to your parents about it,' but that doesn't help the child, because we know the best treatment for anxiety is to expose them to the thing they're afraid of.”
Reports of anxiety among children nearly doubled between 2012 and 2020, from 11.6% to 20.5%, according to data from the American Psychological Association.
Boardman said the rate had been rising sharply even before the pandemic, and some would argue it was already there at the start of the pandemic.
At the same time, separate data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that 78% of public schools reported unnecessary absences in the 2023-2024 school year, suggesting a correlation is likely.
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Mobile phone use has been linked to increased anxiety and other mental health problems. (Marina Demidiuk)
Perino's report found that young Americans are increasingly susceptible to the psychological stresses of technology, particularly smartphones, with 44% of teens saying their smartphones cause them anxiety.
Boardman said he found these figures to be consistent with his own research through issues such as self-comparison.
“Comparing yourself to others is a joy-stealer, and I especially see this in young girls: 'I don't look like that. I'm not invited to that party,'” she said.
“I know a lot of parents of high school students are saying, 'My kid already has a cell phone. What do I do?' Setting limits and guardrails around cell phone use, not just at school but in the bedroom at night, can help improve the quality of sleep for kids. Setting a rule about not having cell phones during meals can also help prioritize family time.”
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