Back to school: it can be the most wonderful time of the year. It’s perfectly common, however, to feel a range of emotions from excitement and curiosity to nervousness and uncertainty.
In this toolkit, Connecticut Children’s pediatric experts share helpful, age-appropriate tips to navigate the start of the school year and set your child up for success. Get answers to questions about tackling tough conversation topics, easing stomach pains, preventing sports injuries and a whole lot more.
Is your child caught up on their doctor visits? If not, schedule a video visit or book an in-person appointment close to home.
Help your children ace the upcoming school year with
tips from the pediatric experts at Connecticut Children’s.
The Ultimate Back-to-School Guide for Parents
Ask your athlete: What is their “why”?
Kids need social engagement, physical activity, and reasons to feel proud of themselves. Sports, at their best, can check all three of these boxes. But things can go awry if your child becomes too focused on perfection and winning, and loses touch with why a sport once brought them joy…
Encourage your child to step back and think about if that’s the case for them. Whatever the reason, does it still feel true? If not, it’s time to think about if they can rediscover the positive aspects of their sport.
If they’ve lost their “why,” is there a way to get it back?
Sometimes, an athlete can find new ways to reconnect with their favorite parts of a sport. For example, did they get into their sport to develop relationships? Maybe they can take on a mentor role or coach younger kids. To develop new skills? Try focusing on personal bests, rather than winning.
It’s also okay to step away from something that no longer brings joy. If your child’s sport has become a source of stress, maybe it’s time for them to take a break and try some different extracurricular activities.
Work on managing losses and poor performance.
We can’t always perform at our best. And even when we do, in many sports there can only be one winner. Help your athlete recognize that these are important parts of competition too — with opportunities to build resilience and learn how to manage life’s ups and downs.
Acknowledge that it’s okay to be sad, frustrated, or disappointed. Your athlete worked hard and didn’t get the outcome they wanted. How can they still be proud of themselves and show good sportsmanship?
Focus on a healthy relationship with the team and coaches.
The best teams provide athletes with a sense of belonging and motivation. Others, depending on the team and the coach, can become a source of unhealthy pressure. Check-in regularly with your child to make sure they’re in a positive environment. How is their coach? Do they feel safe around them? Do they feel comfortable with their teammates? Do they feel included?
When your athlete relates to their team, it can be a powerful “why,”
and an alternative to striving for
individual perfection.
Watch for pressure to change body shape or size.
Lots of sports have subtle or not-so-subtle expectations for body shape or size. Be mindful of those influences, and help your child recognize unhealthy ideals or behaviors. You can enlist your child’s coach for help with this, or talk to experts like Connecticut Children’s pediatric nutritionists and pediatric sports medicine specialists.
The Pressure to Win: Sports and Your Child’s Mental Health
In recent years, athletes from Simone Biles to Naomi Osaka to Michael Phelps have come forward to talk about the importance of mental health, along with the impact of sports and competition. Lots of young athletes can relate. A sport can all too easily switch from a source of joy to a source of stress.
How can you make sure your child gets all the benefits of their sport while managing all the pressures? Connecticut Children’s pediatric psychologist Kelly Maynes, PsyD, shares tips.
Check on your child’s mental health.
Remind your child that asking for help is a sign of strength. If they have a physical injury, they need help to recover. If they’re struggling mentally or emotionally, they need help too. Here are tips for starting the conversation.
Like so much in life, a healthy relationship with sports is about finding a balance. You want your child to be involved with something, but not so preoccupied that it affects their mental health. That can be a tough road to navigate. Don’t hesitate to ask for support from your child’s coach, counselor, or doctor.
Getting School Year Sleep Schedules Back on Track
Academic performance, behavior, and mood are all dependent on good sleep.
Back to School Supplies: Healthy Snacks Edition
Healthy snacks are a great way to keep your kids energized and boost their essential nutrient intake.
“My Stomach Hurts!” Back-to-School Nerves or Something Else?
Abdominal pain is among the most common reasons kids visit their pediatrician or obtain a referral to a gastroenterologist.
How to Support Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Connecticut Children’s autism specialist Jennifer Twachtman-Bassett, MS, CCC-SLP shares tips.
Set for Success: More Tips for Parents
Discussing Racial Inequality and Social Justice with Kids
Research shows us that talking with children about the topics of race, inequality, and social justice can make big changes and leave lasting positive impacts on a child’s development says.
On the other hand, not talking about these issues can lead to “implicit biases” — subconscious thoughts and feelings that can affect how a child views racial, ethnic, and religious differences, and even influence their behavior. Talking about bias, difference, and inequality from an early age can prevent these negative effects.
Developmental pediatrician Robert D. Keder, MD helps parents navigate these important conversations.
Children naturally notice racial differences, but their attitude toward race doesn’t become set until adolescence.
Children start to notice racial differences as infants. One study found that at birth, children tend to look at all faces, but by three to six months they prefer to look at faces similar to those of their caregivers. By two-and-a-half years old, children begin to use race to make decisions about people’s behaviors and to choose playmates.
From ages two to four, they internalize what they learn about race, racial identity, and differences from others (and they’re doing the same thing when it comes to gender, gender identity, and gender bias).
By kindergarten, ages five and six, most children show similar racial attitudes held by adults in their cultural group, including associating some groups with higher status than others.
By adolescence, children start to become set in their beliefs. This gives families a good amount of time to discuss race and bias and promote diversity and inclusion.
If your child has questions about what they see on the news, have an open (age-appropriate) conversation about it.
Avoiding the conversation enables further injustice to occur, so keep the dialogue going. If your child asks, talk to them about what happened. First, check in with yourself. What do you know? Are you able to talk about it? Then, check-in with your child. How old are they and what do they already know?
Let them know as much as they need to know in a developmentally appropriate manner, including that something bad happened and that it involved bias, racial inequality, and injustice. Without overexposing a young child to the more graphic elements of what happened, you can talk about how people like George Floyd died and how all of us as human beings are going to learn how to make things better.
If your child is worried they might be a target, make sure they’re safe and supported.
Find out if they are in any immediate danger. If they are, talk with the right people, including their teachers, guidance counselors, and primary care provider. Get them to a safe place. Talk with them about their support network. Talk about who their allies are, who they can turn to for help and how they can rise above these grave challenges.
Let them know that you are there to help and protect them. There is a lot going on right now. The stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, school gun violence, and the stress of hearing about the civil unrest and injustices is a lot to bear, especially for a child.
Visit Connecticut Children's Health Hub for More
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COVID-19 and the New School Year
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