Dealing with School Anxiety - Help Your Child Succeed

Dealing with School Anxiety – with Child Psychiatrist Dr. Mercedes Kwiatkowski

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE on iTunes and Stitcher

The start of the school year is a whirlwind of change for kids. One moment, you’re at home, playing all day and doing whatever you want to do. Then, all of a sudden, you’re surrounded by two dozen other kids with seven hours of your day entirely determined for you and you’re constantly tested to prove what you know.

Sounds exhausting!

And so while some children absolutely love school–they might be excited to see their friends again, they might enjoy learning and challenging themselves–it’s pretty easy to see why the schoolday can be overwhelming for some kids.

In fact, the start of the school year can be quite anxiety-ridden for many parents, too. After all, we want our kids to be happy and to succeed, and it’s natural to worry about how our kids will handle school.

Dealing with school anxiety can be a challenge–and how we and our kids approach that challenge can have profound consequences on how well our kids do in school, both academically and socially.

That’s why I turned to child psychiatrist Dr. Mercedes Kwiatkowski. After finishing medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Kwiatkowski completed her residency and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She currently works with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation guiding parents and children through challenging mental health issues.

Dr. Kwiatkowski is also a mom & writes for the San Francisco Moms Blog, where she combines her medical knowledge with her experience as a mother to offer parents insights as they raise their kids.

In short, she’s the perfect person to listen to when it comes to helping your child deal with his or her school anxiety.

Listen by clicking here for iTunes or play it below.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What school anxiety is
How to tell the difference between “butterflies in the stomach” on the first day of school and a bigger issue that should be addressed
How anxiety about school can look different from what you might think
Tips to help prepare your child for the school year
What to do if school anxiety has persisted beyond the first few days of school
What to do if your child has missed school because of anxiety
Tips to get your child more interested and involved in school
How to know when you should get professional help for your child
And much, much more!

It was great talking with Dr. Kwiatkowski about this difficult topic. If you’d like to read more of her insights, or if you’d like to look into the helpful books she mentions in this episode, look below for links.

Be sure to SHARE this page & this episode if you know someone whose child is having a hard time adjusting to school. Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and let me know if you’ve found this episode helpful with your child.