Worried About Sending Your Kids Back to School?

Worried About Sending Your Kids Back to School?

Paul Greene, PhD

Paul Greene, PhD

Dr. Paul Greene is the director of the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in New York City. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Boston University and completed postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Greene served as an assistant professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for six years. He is an expert in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders, and the application of mindfulness in cognitive-behavioral clinical interventions.

Worried About Sending Your Kids Back to School?

Share
No
School anxiety COVID

Many parents around the country are being faced with deciding whether or not to have their children return to school — whether it be part-time or full-time — for the upcoming school year. For parents who suffer from significant anxiety, this can be a very difficult decision. The last thing any parent wants is to make a decision that won’t be in their child’s best interest, or that causes the child to be exposed to the coronavirus. 

As a parent, how can you deal with the anxiety that this situation creates? 

Remember: You can’t know what the “right” decision is

If you could see into the future, you would know what would happen if you sent your child back to school. Unfortunately, this is something no one can know. Therefore,  the question about whether to send your child back to school or not doesn’t have a correct answer. All you can do is make the best decision possible with the information that’s currently available.

This involves thinking through the advantages and risks of each option – keeping your kid(s) at home vs. having them return to school. Anxiety often predisposes us toward thinking about just one option and how it might go wrong. Try to counter that by thinking through both sides.

Consider both the advantages and risks of sending your kids back to school

If your child or children return to school, they’ll have the social advantages of being around their peers. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children be physically present in school if it is possible for them to do so safely. Returning even part-time can provide a sense of rhythm and normalcy for children, and give you a break from being a part-time teacher on top of being a full-time parent!

Also, think about the risk mitigation measures being taken by the school. Are they implementing social distancing for the students? Will they have students and teachers wear masks, or avoid crowded gymnasiums and cafeterias? What are their policies if a student or staff member tests positive for the coronavirus? Many schools are implementing policies that are likely to be very effective at reducing the risk of virus transmission; consider these factors alongside the risks of sending your kids back to school.

Consider both the advantages and risks of keeping your kids at home

The main advantage of having your children at home is that you can exercise more control over who they come into contact with. This can reduce their risk of coronavirus exposure. This may offer you some peace of mind, especially if you have elderly or medically vulnerable family members at home.

Confer with your partner

If you share parenting responsibility, consider your partner’s opinion. In most cases, it’s best when these are collaborative decisions. It sets a good example for your children and reduces the chance of later conflict between the two of you.

Account for all the facts

One particularly effective anxiety management strategy is to make sure your worries are as factually informed as possible. For example, if you’re worried about getting a brain tumor, it’s good to know how statistically likely that is; this knowledge can help you control your anxiety if you let it impact your thought process.

Similarly, regarding kids and school, it makes sense to assess risk based on whether your local area, region, and state are currently in an outbreak or not. Coronavirus risk at your child’s school depends in part on how the school manages things but depends even more on the proportion of infected persons in the community. 

If you strive to take all these factors into account, you’ll make the decision that’s best for your family without letting anxiety drive the process.

Paul Greene, PhD

Paul Greene, PhD

Dr. Paul Greene is the director of the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in New York City. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Boston University and completed postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Greene served as an assistant professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for six years. He is an expert in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders, and the application of mindfulness in cognitive-behavioral clinical interventions.

ADAA Blog Content and Blog Comments Policy

ADAA Blog Content and Blog Comments Policy

ADAA provides this Website blogs for the benefit of its members and the public. The content, view and opinions published in Blogs written by our personnel or contributors – or from links or posts on the Website from other sources - belong solely to their respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ADAA, its members, management or employees. Any comments or opinions expressed are those of their respective contributors only. Please remember that the open and real-time nature of the comments posted to these venues makes it is impossible for ADAA to confirm the validity of any content posted, and though we reserve the right to review and edit or delete any such comment, we do not guarantee that we will monitor or review it. As such, we are not responsible for any messages posted or the consequences of following any advice offered within such posts. If you find any posts in these posts/comments to be offensive, inaccurate or objectionable, please contact us via email at [email protected] and reference the relevant content. If we determine that removal of a post or posts is necessary, we will make reasonable efforts to do so in a timely manner.

ADAA expressly disclaims responsibility for and liabilities resulting from, any information or communications from and between users of ADAA’s blog post commenting features. Users acknowledge and agree that they may be individually liable for anything they communicate using ADAA’s blogs, including but not limited to defamatory, discriminatory, false or unauthorized information. Users are cautioned that they are responsible for complying with the requirements of applicable copyright and trademark laws and regulations. By submitting a response, comment or content, you agree that such submission is non-confidential for all purposes. Any submission to this Website will be deemed and remain the property of ADAA.

The ADAA blogs are forums for individuals to share their opinions, experiences and thoughts related to mental illness. ADAA wants to ensure the integrity of this service and therefore, use of this service is limited to participants who agree to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Refrain from transmitting any message, information, data, or text that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, that may be invasive of another 's privacy, hateful, or bashing communications - especially those aimed at gender, race, color, sexual orientation, national origin, religious views or disability.

Please note that there is a review process whereby all comments posted to blog posts and webinars are reviewed by ADAA staff to determine appropriateness before comments are posted. ADAA reserves the right to remove or edit a post containing offensive material as defined by ADAA.

ADAA reserves the right to remove or edit posts that contain explicit, obscene, offensive, or vulgar language. Similarly, posts that contain any graphic files will be removed immediately upon notice.

2. Refrain from posting or transmitting any unsolicited, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain mail," "pyramid schemes" or any other form of solicitation. ADAA reserves the right to delete these posts immediately upon notice.

3. ADAA invites and encourages a healthy exchange of opinions. If you disagree with a participant 's post or opinion and wish to challenge it, do so with respect. The real objective of the ADAA blog post commenting function is to promote discussion and understanding, not to convince others that your opinion is "right." Name calling, insults, and personal attacks are not appropriate and will not be tolerated. ADAA will remove these posts immediately upon notice.

4. ADAA promotes privacy and encourages participants to keep personal information such as address and telephone number from being posted. Similarly, do not ask for personal information from other participants. Any comments that ask for telephone, address, e-mail, surveys and research studies will not be approved for posting.

5. Participants should be aware that the opinions, beliefs and statements on blog posts do not necessarily represent the opinions and beliefs of ADAA. Participants also agree that ADAA is not to be held liable for any loss or injury caused, in whole or in part, by sponsorship of blog post commenting. Participants also agree that ADAA reserves the right to report any suspicions of harm to self or others as evidenced by participant posts.

RESOURCES AND NEWS
Evidence-based Tips & Strategies from our Member Experts
RELATED ARTICLES
Block reference