Going back to school means facing many challenges both academically and oftentimes socially. Unfortunately, for many kids, a big part of these social challenges is bullying. In fact, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP):
“Surveys indicate that as many as half of all children are bullied at some time during their school years, and at least 10% are bullied on a regular basis.”
Bullying can have devastating consequences, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and thoughts of suicide.
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Potential Signs

Here are some warning signs that your child might be a victim of bullying:

– Withdraws socially
– Feels isolated and sad
– Exhibits mood swings
– Threatens violence
– Doesn’t want to go to school
– Unexplained bruising
– A drop in grades; learning problems
– Changes in social life

How to Help Your Child

The AACAP recommends:

• Ask your child what he/she has already done and whether that’s worked.
• Tell your child to walk away from a bully and seek help from the school’s staff.
• Teach your child to be assertive.
• Encourage your child to be with friends, because it’s less likely he/she will be picked on in a group.
• If you notice that your child is having trouble academically or has withdrawn, seek a mental health professional early on.

How to Approach School Staff

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests:

• Record details about bullying incidents along with meetings with school personnel. Ask your school to also keep records of any incidents against your child.
• Talk with your child’s teacher about the following: what the teacher has observed; what he/she will do to investigate the bullying and stop it; ask if your child seems isolated.
• Always follow-up with school staff and see the principal if there’s no improvement. If that doesn’t work, keep going up the hierarchy to the superintendent.
• Put complaints in writing.
• Be persistent.

Cyberbullying

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines cyberbullying, or electronic aggression, as:

“any kind of aggression perpetrated through technology—any type of harassment or bullying (teasing, telling lies, making fun of someone, making rude or mean comments, spreading rumors, or making threatening or aggressive comments) that occurs through email, a chat room, instant messaging, a website (including blogs), or text messaging.”
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Though traditional forms of bullying are still more common, cyberbullying is becoming an increasing concern. In fact, researchers have found that, like traditional bullying, cyberbullying is linked to depression, decreased grades, peer violence and suicide. But, unlike classic bullying, cyberbullying can seem more intense, because it occurs at home, it’s far reaching, often anonymous and might be harsher. An article in the New Scientist provides more detail into this phenomenon and its devastating effects.


*https://psychcentral.com/blog/dealing-with-bullies/
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Every summer, about two weeks before the beginning of school, my phone lights up at an alarming rate. With staggered start dates around the country, the concerns about back-to-school anxiety come in waves and continue through most of the fall. Good news: you’re not alone.
Take a second grade boy, for example. He loved kindergarten. He liked first grade. Just weeks before the first day of second grade, he declared that he had no intention of going to school anymore. At first, his parents thought it was cute and funny. Most kids would choose endless summer over homework and sitting still all day, after all. Within days of this declaration, however, his behavior changed.
He woke up with nightmares almost every night. His appetite decreased. He stopped doing the fun things he normally enjoyed, like running through the sprinkler with his sister and practicing soccer kicks in the yard. He became clingy, he whined a lot and he was irritable more often than not. He was anxious.
Feelings of anxiety are perfectly normal and to be expected during times of transition. While many people think of separation anxiety as a problem confined to toddlers and preschoolers, I also see it in elementary and middle school kids. And back-to-school anxiety can occur clear through high school!
Some kids are more hard-wired for anxious thoughts and feelings than others. While some level of anxiety affects most people, high levels of anxiety can be disruptive to both the child and the whole family.
Know the Signs
Some worries are to be expected. It’s not easy to walk into a new classroom with a new teacher and start from scratch every single year. Watch for these sneaky symptoms of anxiety as the new school year begins:

• changes in eating habits
• sleep disturbance
• clingy behavior
• meltdowns or tantrums
• nail biting, hair twirling, skin picking
• headaches or stomach pains
• avoiding normal daily activities
• increased irritability
• increased crying
• social isolation

If your child exhibits some of these symptoms for more than two weeks, get an evaluation. Many children can work through back-to-school anxiety independently, but when anxiety interferes with normal daily living, kids need help.
How to Deal with Back-to-School Anxiety
Consistency and routines are always a great place to start when it comes to squashing those back-to-school worries! Try some of these strategies to help your child ease into the new school year:
Attend school (and be early!). While it’s perfectly normal to have worries when starting a new school year, it’s very important to attend school each day. A huge meltdown might have you wondering if you should simply try another day, but avoidance of school will only increase and reinforce your child’s anxiety. Missing school because of anxiety robs your child of the chance to gain mastery, make friends, enjoy a successful school day and develop a relationship with the teacher.
Get back to basics. It’s very difficult to feel calm, confident and in control when you are starving or exhausted. Anxiety can cause kids to struggle with sleep and eat a little less. This means that parents have to stay on top of those childhood basics.
Set an earlier bedtime for the entire family, make sure each day includes plenty of downtime, and provide balanced meals and nutritious snacks with plenty of time to eat. Eating on the run is stressful for kids.
Allow extra time in the mornings. Anxious children don’t like to be late, nor do they enjoy being rushed. Now that you’ve pushed that bedtime up, your child should be able to wake with plenty of time to eat, get dressed and get ready for the day.
Create healthy nighttime routines to make the mornings easier. Choosing clothes at night, packing snacks and filling water bottles and packing the backpack and placing it by the door are all time savers for anxious kids.
Avoid blanket statements. When kids express worries about school, it’s tempting to respond with generic statements such as, “Don’t worry about it!” or “You’ll love it!” These statements rarely provide reassurance for worriers. A better tactic is to address specific worries with your child.
When parents take the time to listen and help children come up with strategies to solve problems, kids feel more confident. If your child is worried about where to sit at lunch, for example, have him draw a map of the lunchroom and discuss possibilities.
Role-play. The best way to gain mastery over worries is to practice taking control of worrisome situations. Have your child create a list of school-related worries and act out different ways to solve the problems. I like to have kids try out two or three solutions per problem so that they always have a back-up plan.
Watch your words. Kids look to their parents for clues. If you appear overwhelmed and anxious on the first day of school, your child is likely to follow your lead.
It’s perfectly natural for parents to have worries at the beginning of the school year. Instead of hyper-focusing on the potential negatives or faking it, take the time to talk about feelings and worries as a family. When families work through their feelings together, they empower one another.
Back-to-school anxiety can be stressful for families. More often than not, the anxiety decreases as the child adjusts to the new school year. If the anxiety persists, seek help. It’s far better to learn to manage anxious feelings than to suffer in silence and struggle through the school year.

www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2016/08/cope-back-school-anxiety/

Back-to-School Tips​​​The following health and safety tips are from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Making the First Day Easier

• Parents should remember that they need not wait until the first day of class to ask for help. Schools are open to address any concerns a parent or child might have, including the specific needs of a child, over the summer. The best time to get help might be one to two weeks before school opens.
• Many children become nervous about new situations, including changing to a new school, classroom or teacher. This may occur at any age. If your child seems nervous, it can be helpful to rehearse entry into the new situation. Take them to visit the new school or classroom before the first day of school. Remind them that there are probably a lot of students who are uneasy about the first day of school. Teachers know that students are nervous and will make an extra effort to make sure everyone feels as comfortable as possible. If your child seems nervous, ask them what they are worried about and help them problem solve ways to master the new situation.
• Point out the positive aspects of starting school to create positive anticipation about the first day of class. They will see old friends and meet new ones. Talk with them about positive experiences they may have had in the past at school or with other groups of children.
• Find another child in the neighborhood with whom your child can walk to school or ride on the bus.
• If it is a new school for your child, attend any available orientations and take an opportunity to tour the school before the first day. Bring the child to school a few days prior to class to play on the playground and get comfortable in the new environment.
• If you feel it is needed, drive your child (or walk with her) to school and pick her up on the first day, and get there early on the first day to cut down on unnecessary stress.
• Make sure to touch base with your child's new teacher at the beginning or end of the day so the teacher knows how much you want to be supportive of your child's school experience.
• Consider starting your child on their school sleep/wake schedule a week or so ahead of time so that time change is not a factor on their first couple of days at school.

Backpack Safety

• Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back.
• Pack light. Organize the backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back. The backpack should never weigh more than 10% to 20% of your child's body weight. Go through the pack with your child weekly, and remove unneeded items to keep it light.
• Remind your child to always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles.
• Adjust the pack so that the bottom sits at your child's waist.
• If your school allows, consider a rolling backpack. This type of backpack may be a good choice for students who must tote a heavy load. Remember that rolling backpacks still must be carried up stairs, they may be difficult to roll in snow, and they may not fit in some lockers. And review backpack safety with your child.

Traveling To & From SchoolReview the basic rules with your student and practice any new routes or modes of transportation:
School Bus

• Children should always board and exit the bus at locations that provide safe access to the bus or to the school building.
• Remind your child to wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb.
• Make sure your child walks where she can see the bus driver (which means the driver will be able to see her, too).
• Remind your student to look both ways to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing the street, just in case traffic does not stop as required. Encourage your child to actually practice how to cross the street several times prior to the first day of school.
• Your child should not move around on the bus.
• If your child's school bus has lap/shoulder seat belts, make sure your child uses one at all times when in the bus. (If your child's school bus does not have lap/shoulder belts, encourage the school system to buy or lease buses with lap/shoulder belts). See Where We Stand: Safety Restraints on the School Bus for more information. 
• Check on the school's policy regarding food on the bus. Eating on the bus can present a problem for students with allergy and also lead to infestations of insects and vermin on the vehicles.
• If your child has a chronic condition that could result in an emergency on the bus, make sure you work with the school nurse or other school health personnel to have a bus emergency plan, if possibly, prior to the first day of class

Car

• All passengers should wear a seat belt or use an age- and size-appropriate car seat or booster seat.
• Your child should ride in a car seat with a harness as long as possible and then ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is ready for a booster seat when she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat.
• Your child should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle's seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age). This means that the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down and the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, not the stomach.
• All children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles. If you must drive more children than can fit in the rear seat (when carpooling, for example), move the front-seat passenger's seat as far back as possible and have the child ride in a booster seat if the seat belts do not fit properly without it.
• Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. You should require seat belt use, limit the number of teen passengers, and do not allow eating, drinking, cell phone conversations even when using hands-free devices or speakerphone, texting or other mobile device use to prevent driver distraction.. Familiarize yourself with your state's graduated driver's license law and consider the use of a parent-teen driver agreement to facilitate the early driving learning process. Click here for a sample parent-teen driver agreement.

Bike

• Practice the bike route to school before the first day of school to make sure your child can manage it.
• Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride.
• Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic and ride in bike lanes if they are present.
• Use appropriate hand signals.
• Respect traffic lights and stop signs.
• Wear bright-colored clothing to increase visibility. White or light-colored clothing and reflective gear is especially important after dark.
• Know the "rules of the road."

Walking to School

• Children are generally ready to start walking to school at 9 to 11 years of age.
• Make sure your child's walk to school is a safe route with well-trained adult crossing guards at every intersection.
• Identify other children in the neighborhood with whom your child can walk to school.  In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider organizing a "walking school bus," in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.
• Be realistic about your child's pedestrian skills. Because small children are impulsive and less cautious around traffic, carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision. If the route home requires crossing busier streets than your child can reasonably do safely, have an adult, older friend or sibling escort them home.
• If your children are young or are walking to a new school, walk with them or have another adult walk with them the first week or until you are sure they know the route and can do it safely. If your child will need to cross a street on the way to school, practice safe street crossing with them before the start of school.
• Bright-colored clothing or a visibility device, like a vest or armband with reflectors, will make your child more visible to drivers.

Eating During the School Day

• Studies show that children who eat a nutritious breakfast function better. They do better in school, and have better concentration and more energy. Some schools provide breakfast for children; if yours does not, make sure they eat a breakfast that contains some protein
• Most schools regularly send schedules of cafeteria menus home and/or have them posted on the school's website. With this advance information, you can plan on packing lunch on the days when the main course is one your child prefers not to eat.
• Many children qualify for free or reduced price food at school, including breakfast. The forms for these services can be completed at the school office. Hunger will affect a child's performance in class.
• Many school districts have plans which allow you to pay for meals through an online account. Your child will get a card to "swipe" at the register. This is a convenient way to handle school meal accounts.
• Look into what is offered inside and outside of the cafeteria, including vending machines, a la carte, school stores, snack carts and fundraisers held during the school day. All foods sold during the school day must meet nutrition standards established by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). They should stock healthy choices such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, water and 100% fruit juice. Learn about your child's school wellness policy and get involved in school groups to put it into effect. Also, consider nutrition if you child will be bringing food to eat during school.
• Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child's risk of obesity by 60%. Choose healthier options (such as water and appropriately sized juice and low-fat dairy products) to send in your child's lunch.

BullyingBullying or cyberbullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, over the Internet, or through mobile devices like cell phones.
When Your Child Is Bullied

• Alert school officials to the problems and work with them on solutions.
• Teach your child to be comfortable with when and how to ask a trusted adult for help. Ask them to identify who they can ask for help.
• Recognize the serious nature of bullying and acknowledge your child's feelings about being bullied.
• Help your child learn how to respond by teaching your child how to:
  1. Look the bully in the eye.
  2. Stand tall and stay calm in a difficult situation.
  3. Walk away.
• Teach your child how to say in a firm voice. 
  1. "I don't like what you are doing."
  2. "Please do NOT talk to me like that."
• Encourage your child to make friends with other children.
• Support outside activities that interest your child.
• Make sure an adult who knows about the bullying can watch out for your child's safety and well-being when you cannot be there.
• Monitor your child's social media or texting interactions so you can identify problems before they get out of hand.

When Your Child Is the Bully

• Be sure your child knows that bullying is never OK.
• Set firm and consistent limits on your child's aggressive behavior.
• Help your child learn empathy for other children by asking them to consider how the other child feels about they way your child treated them.  Ask your child how they would feel if someone bullied them.  
• Be a positive role mode. Show children they can get what they want without teasing, threatening or hurting someone.
• Use effective, non-physical discipline, such as loss of privileges.
• Focus on praising your child when they behave in positive ways such as helping or being kind to other children as opposed to bullying them.
• Develop practical solutions with the school principal, teachers, school social workers or psychologists, and parents of the children your child has bullied.

When Your Child Is a Bystander

• Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult about the bullying. Encourage your child to join with others in telling bullies to stop.
• Help your child support other children who may be bullied. Encourage your child to include these children in activities.

Before & After School Child Care

• During early and middle childhood, children need supervision. A responsible adult should be available to get them ready and off to school in the morning and supervise them after school until you return home from work.

• If a family member will care for your child, communicate the need to follow consistent rules set by the parent regarding schedules, discipline and homework.
• Children approaching adolescence (11- and 12-year-olds) should not come home to an empty house in the afternoon unless they show unusual maturity for their age.
• If alternate adult supervision is not available, parents should make special efforts to supervise their children from a distance. Children should have a set time when they are expected to arrive at home and should check in with a neighbor or with a parent by telephone.
• If you choose an after-school program for your child, inquire about the training of the staff. There should be a high staff-to-child ratio, trained persons to address health issues and emergencies, and the rooms and the playground should be safe.

Develop a Sleep Routine

• Getting enough sleep is critical for a child to be successful in school. Children who do not get enough sleep have difficulty concentrating and learning as well as they can.
• Set a consistent bedtime for your child and stick with it every night. Having a bedtime routine that is consistent will help your child settle down and fall asleep. Components of a calming pre-bedtime routine may involve a bath/shower, reading with them, and tucking them in and saying good-night to them.
• Have your child turn off electronic devices well before bedtime.
• Try to have the home as quiet and calm as possible when younger children are trying to fall asleep.
• Insufficient sleep is associated with lower academic achievement in middle school, high school and college, as well as higher rates of absenteeism and tardiness. The optimal amount of sleep for most younger children is 10-12 hours per night and for adolescents (13-18 year of age) is in the range of 8-10 hours per night. See Healthy Sleep Habits: How Many Hours Does Your Child Need? for more information. 

Developing Good Homework & Study Habits

• Create an environment that is conducive to doing homework starting at a young age. Children need a consistent work space in their bedroom or another part of the home that is quiet, without distractions, and promotes study.
• Schedule ample time for homework; build this time into choices about participation in after school activities.
• Establish a household rule that the TV and other electronic distractions stay off during homework time.
• Supervise computer and Internet use.
• By high school, it's not uncommon for teachers to ask students to submit homework electronically and perform other tasks on a computer. If your child doesn't have access to a computer or the internet at home, work with teachers and school administration to develop appropriate accommodations.
• Be available to answer questions and offer assistance, but never do a child's homework for her.
• Take steps to help alleviate eye fatigue, neck fatigue and brain fatigue while studying. It may be helpful to close the books for a few minutes, stretch, and take a break periodically when it will not be too disruptive.
• If your child is struggling with a particular subject, speak with your child's teacher for recommendations on how you or another person can help your child at home or at school. If you have concerns about the assignments your child is receiving, talk with their teacher. 
• If your child is having difficulty focusing on or completing homework, discuss this with your child's teacher, school counselor, or health care provider. 
• For general homework problems that cannot be worked out with the teacher, a tutor may be considered.
• Some children need extra help organizing their homework. Checklists, timers, and parental supervision can help overcome homework problems.
• Some children may need help remembering their assignments. Work with your child and their teacher to develop an appropriate way to keep track of their assignments – such as an assignment notebook.

Additional Information from HealthyChildren.org: 

• Administering Medication at School: Tips for Parents
• Snacks & Sugary Foods in School: AAP Policy Explained
• Create an Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan: AAP Report Explained
• How You Can Help Your Child Avoid & Address Bullying
• Back to School, Back to the Doctor​​
• The Healthy Children Show: Energy Balance for School-Age Kids (Video) 
  
  
  
  

Last Updated
 
6/8/2018
Source
 
American Academy of Pediatrics (Copyright © 2017)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.