The School Avoidance & Back-to-School Anxiety Trend

Going back to school is often an exciting time for children. However, for a few, it triggers fear, stress, and overwhelming worry. Since the pandemic, back-to-school anxiety has become more widespread among children and teens. According to Anxiety Canada, more than 25% of youth will engage in some form of school avoidance during their education. As therapists, we are at the frontline of this growing trend. We see disengaged children brought in by hapless parents who do not know how to handle the problem. Left unaddressed, this can impact academic performance, friendships, family routines, and overall well-being.

If your mornings feel like a battleground filled with tears, meltdowns, or stomach aches, you are not alone. Understanding the signs, knowing when it’s more than just “first-day jitters,” and learning practical ways to help can make the transition smoother for the whole family. In this blog, we address the following:

• What is school avoidance and back-to-school anxiety?
• What are the signs and symptoms of School Avoidance and Back-To-School Anxiety in children and teens?
• How does anxiety impact family routines, relationships, and well-being?
• What strategies can parents use at home to help teens and children with Back-to-School Anxiety?
• How to Navigate the School System for Accommodations and Support.
• How Can a Child Therapist Help?
• What Evidence-based therapies can help Children and Teens with Anxiety and School Avoidance?
• Understanding Cultural Perspectives and the Impact of Academic Pressure on Anxiety.
• How can Shanti Psychotherapy Help?

What Is School Avoidance and Back-to-School Anxiety

School avoidance and back-to-school anxiety can be triggered by factors like:

• Bullying or difficult social situations.
• Academic pressures, learning differences, or fear of failure.
• Family stress, transitions, or significant life changes.
• Cultural expectations and pressure to perform.
• Adjusting to a new school system, language, or cultural norms.

All of these cause anxiety that children are ill-equipped to handle by themselves. Many kids in this situation feel overwhelmed and misunderstood, and they become isolated. They resist going to school or refuse to attend altogether. Without a compassionate support system, they may not see a clear path forward.

Signs and Symptoms of School Avoidance and Back-to-School Anxiety.

School anxiety goes beyond the usual nerves of meeting a new teacher or entering a new grade. It can include physical symptoms, emotional distress, or behaviour changes whenever school is brought up. The signs and symptoms vary depending on the child’s age.

Other red flags parents and caregivers can look out for are changes in sleep patterns or appetite. They may engage in negative self-talk, “I am not good enough”, “everyone will laugh”, “I hate school”. They may be irritable and have frequent emotional outbursts. You may also find them complaining of feeling sick just before school.

How Anxiety Impacts The Family Unit

When one child becomes anxious about school, the impact radiates to all members of the family unit. Your family routine starts to suffer. Instead of feeling fresh and ready for the day, mornings become a source of stress. Tardiness, arguments, and tearful drop-offs at school become commonplace and complex for everyone’s mental health.

Parents can start carrying enormous burdens of guilt and frustration. When they receive calls from school about the child’s misbehaviour, they struggle with balancing empathy for the child and disciplinary consequences. And of course, every parent begins to worry about the child’s academic performance and educational success.

Siblings are not immune to the impact either. They might resent the anxious child receiving all the attention and special accommodations.

Therapy is often necessary to achieve harmony within the family. Therapy sessions will equip both caregivers and children with coping tools and strategies, some of which may necessitate collaboration with the school system and educators.

Strategies To Help A Child With Anxiety

Identifying the cause of your child’s anxiety is one hurdle. The next phase is finding a way to help them through it. Here are several steps caregivers can take:

• Build their confidence. Celebrate small wins and focus on effort over perfection.
• Open, empathetic communication. Allow your child to express fears without judgment. Validate their feelings “I get it, these are hard days, tell me more”.
• Stabilize routines around the house. This includes maintaining consistent sleep and wake-up times, preparing for the morning the night before, and having a predictable daily structure with time scheduled for fun and play, without focus on punishments.
• Building your child’s confidence: Celebrate small wins and focus on effort over perfection.
• Working with a therapist on emotion-focused parenting to support your child’s needs.
• Learning and modelling coping skills, such as breathing exercises, journaling, visualization, or mindfulness practices.
• Stay connected with your child’s school. Speak with teachers and counsellors to develop accommodations for your child.
• Gradually expose them to attending school with small steps. Start with classes they enjoy or attending partial days.

Working with the School System:

The primary goal in addressing school avoidance is to help your child confront the fears that prevent them from attending school. Typically, this requires engaging with the school system and advocating for accommodations that your child may need, either temporarily or permanently. Child therapists are well-versed in navigating educational institutions and can intervene, provide you with documentation and point you in the right direction.

Accommodations should be developed collaboratively to include the child, ensuring their voice is heard and considered. Using age-appropriate language, seeking feedback, sharing the decision-making and support buy-in. Also, respect the child’s right to decline strategies that clearly make them uncomfortable. Let them work at their own pace and build in flexibility throughout the process. Here are examples of accommodations you might consider:

1. Gradual Re-Entry

Allow the student to gradually ease back into the school environment. Start with shorter school days or limited periods (e.g., attending only a favourite class or non-threatening subject). Gradually increase attendance as comfort builds. You can also consider remote or hybrid learning that transitions to full-time attendance.

2. Safe Space at School

Provide access to a designated “safe space” where the student can go if they feel overwhelmed (e.g., a counsellor’s office or a quiet room). They should feel comfortable accessing this space without needing to explain themselves in the moment.

3. Flexible Academic Expectations

They may require time off for mental health reasons, and offering flexible assignment deadlines can help relieve a burden.

4. Peer or Staff Support System

Pairing the student with a trusted adult mentor or peer can help them navigate their school day with the type of emotional support they require. Also, regular check-ins with a school counsellor can help them review their progress and celebrate wins while keeping challenges from escalating.

Working With A Child Therapist

Without compassionate support, anxious kids will feel overwhelmed, misunderstood, and become isolated. Early intervention tends to yield better results; don’t wait until anxiety becomes entrenched. A positive outcome typically involves therapy for the child and caregivers working together, as well as collaboration with the partnering school. The primary goal is to help the child overcome the fears or anxieties that prevent them from attending school.

Child therapists are trained in a wide variety of evidence-based treatments. Depending on the child’s age, therapists can work with your child individually or with you and your family together. Through the therapeutic process, your child will learn to recognize and “name” their feelings, so they can clearly express their needs. You will both learn to recognize the triggers that cause anxiety. You will also learn strategies to manage anxiety, build coping strategies and access appropriate accommodations. The caregiver’s role is to help the child learn and practice what they have learned.

Therapy enables anxious children to reach an empowering stage that fosters their self-development and self-confidence. Not only will they be properly armed to navigate their educational journey, but this will also set them up to take ownership of their own needs and care, paving the way for long-term resilience and growth.

Evidence-Based Therapy For School Avoidance

Anxiety-reducing therapy benefits teenagers, in particular. In 2021, Lumenus Community Services utilized two types of treatment in a program called 304 Classroom to address the growing number of local students who had been chronically avoiding school following the pandemic. 

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a highly effective treatment for school avoidance. It helps students gradually face the fears and anxieties that keep them from attending school. This structured approach creates a safe, step-by-step plan for reintroducing school-related activities. We start with less intimidating tasks and gradually build up to the most challenging ones. Facing these challenges incrementally arms them with the resilience to cope and builds confidence to foster a healthier relationship with the school.

Mindfulness Meditation:

Mindfulness meditation is a proven method to help manage anxiety and stress. Your therapist can guide your child through meditation and provide online resources that your child can use independently. Mindfulness meditation focuses all your senses on the present moment with non-judgmental awareness. This helps reduce overthinking and eases the emotional intensity of their fears. Regularly practising mindfulness meditation can enhance your child’s self-regulation, build resilience, and provide a calming tool to navigate overwhelming situations.

Cultural Influences & Academic Pressure

Children from BIPOC and immigrant families can carry extra layers of burden when it comes to back-to-school anxiety and school avoidance. Therapists attuned to culturally responsive therapy can recognize these factors and address them without bias. They can also distinguish anxiety symptoms from everyday cultural expressions and deliver strategies that work within the child’s cultural context.

Common factors include:

• Addressing the stress of academic success, which is often tied to family pride and future opportunity.
• Helping children balance their peer relationships with the expectations of their parents and community.
• Recognize linguistic and other systemic barriers that impact immigrant and international students.
  

Integrating your child’s care in line with your heritage and traditions will help all of you draw on familiar strengths to move forward.

How Shanti Psychotherapy Can Help

Overcoming school avoidance is a process that can seem lengthy and complex. With patience, compassion, and the correct resources, your child can start taking meaningful steps toward reintegrating into a happy and healthy academic environment.

Shanti Psychotherapy has supported children, teens, and families through school anxiety and avoidance for over 25 years. Our services include:

• One-on-one therapy for children.
• Family therapy to enhance communication and establish effective routines.
• Parent coaching for effective and compassionate support.
• Collaboration with schools for customized accommodations
• Culturally sensitive approaches honouring diverse values

We cannot overstate the importance of ensuring that your child is supported throughout this process. While early intervention is key. However, it is never too late to seek the guidance of a trained child therapist. We deeply care about children and families and would be honoured to help you. Best of all, your first consultation with us is entirely free.