One Year Later – Back-to-School Anxiety During Covid

During COVID-19, many kids across the country have been doing most or all of their schooling online. But now, a year later, many communities are finally finding ways to bring kids back to school, in person. While it’s largely agreed on that in-person schooling is critical for child and teen positive mental health and social-emotional development, going back comes with its own concerns and a host of new anxieties for kids, parents, and teachers alike.

In this episode of Shrinking It Down, Gene and Khadijah share insights from their clinical practice as child psychiatrists on supporting the mental health of your family with some of these mid-year “back-to-school” challenges.

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Do you have anxieties or concerns about sending your kids back to school during Covid? We'd love to know. Write to us!

Media List (follow along with the conversation)

• More Schools Are Returning To In-Person Learning. How Do You Decide To Send Your Child Back? (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• K-12 School Operational Strategy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Coronavirus: Teens’ anxiety levels dropped during pandemic, study finds (BBC News)
• Going Back to School During COVID-19 Is a Struggle for Students, Teachers, and Parents (Teen Vogue)
• 7 Ways to Support Kids and Teens Through the Coronavirus Pandemic (MGH Clay Center)
• Should kids get a snow day? (The Weather Channel)
• Harvard EdCast: College Admissions During COVID (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
• Mental Wellness in School-Age Children (Project TEACH)
• Mental Wellness in the Teen Years (Project TEACH)
• How to Help Young People Cope With Grief and Loss During COVID-19 (MGH Clay Center)
• Is Remote Learning Causing A Mental Health Crisis Among Teens And Children? (WBEZ Chicago)
• What Families should Know About Suicide (MGH Clay Center)
• Supporting Your Family’s Emotional Health During COVID-19 (MGH Clay Center)
• The Nuts and Bolts of Telepsychiatry, featuring Janet Wozniak, MD (MGH Clay Center)
• Where To Turn (MGH Clay Center)
• How Do We Heal From Here? A Guide for Families and Our Nation (MGH Clay Center)

If you or someone you know is in distress and needs support, connect with a crisis counselor 24/7:

• Call 1-800-273-8255 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
• Text “HOME” to 741741 (US/Canada). UK: text 85258. Ireland: text 50808. (Crisis Text Line)

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.