Checklist by Michelle Shirley – A new school year starts soon in South Florida, and if your family is like mine, you’re rushing from store to website and back again, armed with lists of supplies and clothing your child will need to be physically and intellectually ready to learn on that first day.
There’s one more back-to-school list to check off so you can answer a critical question: Is your child socially and emotionally ready?
Social and emotional readiness has always been important for setting children up for success. But today, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic’s school closures, it’s more important than ever for parents to ask themselves the question.
A child or adolescent who is ready for the social and emotional demands of school will enter the classroom with confidence (although a few butterflies are perfectly normal). They are willing and able to listen to their teacher and participate in a positive, non-disruptive way. They’ll have good social skills to get along with classmates, make friends and express their emotions appropriately.
Two years after Florida schools reopened to full in-person learning, many children still are coping with the effects of the pandemic, which cut them off from the critical social support of friends, teachers and coaches. Many students fell behind academically as they — and their parents and teachers — struggled to quickly figure out how to use remote-learning technology.
The National Institutes of Health has identified numerous mental health problems related to COVID in youth, including anxiety, stress, depression, panic, irritation, impulsivity, sleep problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and even suicidal behavior.
The Florida Association of Children’s Hospitals reports, “What began as a public health emergency turned into a mental-health crisis. The duration of the pandemic, isolation from friends and family, effects of parental stress and economic hardship and loss of loved ones take their toll on children’s mental health.”
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued a similar warning in December 2021: “The pandemic era’s unfathomable number of deaths, pervasive sense of fear, economic instability and forced physical distancing from loved ones, friends and communities have exacerbated the unprecedented stresses young people already faced.”
It’s normal to regret leaving behind the glory days of summer vacation to return to school, but not so that it interferes with performing in school or connecting with peers. Don’t hesitate to seek professional help if you sense your child is experiencing anxiety, depression or another serious mental-health condition that keeps them from enjoying school. You can also help them adjust to a new school year with some positive approaches:
▪ Help them build a positive mindset.
In the weeks before school starts, look for opportunities to talk about the positive things that school brings: new experiences, new friends, new things to learn. Be careful not to overwhelm them, especially if they tend to worry about the future.
Now is also the time to set a routine for sleep, meals and work. Don’t suddenly spring an early bedtime on children the night before school starts.
▪ Play “What if?”
Ask them to imagine some scenarios they’re afraid of; strategize handling them successfully. What if the teacher asks me a question, and I don’t know the answer? What if someone picks on me? What if I lose my lunch money? End the game by helping them visualize a positive experience. What if everyone loves me and I have a terrific first day?
▪ Be there after their first day.
Do your best to be available when they get home, or soon after, on their first day. If you can’t be there in person, plan to call or text them. Ask how their day went, but don’t push for an answer. Expect them to say it was “fine,” go off on their own and come to you a few hours later to tell you everything.
▪ Help them connect with others.
Encourage your child to join after-school clubs, sports or community organizations where they can develop the social skills they missed if they were learning from home during the pandemic. Children learn their most important social skills by watching and interacting with their peers, and the more contact they have in fun, relaxed settings, the more successful they’ll be in class.
Michelle Shirley is CEO and Chief Heart Officer of Be Strong International, a Miami-based non-profit organization, which provides South Florida youth and families, healthy-relationship education.
Thank you to the Miami Herald for publishing this incredibly valuable Op-Ed.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article277907503.html#storylink=cpy
