The first weeks of September can be a mix of excitement and apprehension for children and young people as they get used to new school classes, catch up with their friends and resume extracurricular activities. But for some, that back-to-school feeling is masking something a lot more concerning. Calls to Childline have spiked recently with children and young people showing signs of increased anxiety as they embark on a new school year warns the ISPCC.
Parents need to be vigilant and watch out for the signs of anxiety in their children. It is a challenging time of the year with some major shifts in lifestyle particularly from small rural schools to secondary schools. Old school pals move to different schools, lifelong friendships change, a lot of change for young minds to handle. Some children will face challenges.
They call Childline to discuss many worries – everything from fitting in with friendship groups to getting used to a new teacher, juggling extracurricular activities and meeting expectations of family, friends and school as well as academic and exam anxiety. Financial concerns are also a worry for some.
For Alex* the return to school has always been hard. She struggles with change and feels particularly traumatised this year because classes are streamed. She is worried about being isolated. But she has taken solace in knowing that she can always reach out to Childline for any reason.
The transition from primary to secondary school is also a huge issue for many children. Jack* comes from a small rural town and he doesn’t know many people at his large second-level school. He isn’t sporty and worries about being a target for bullies.
In recognising the challenges and anxiety around these transitions, ISPCC offers Smart Moves, a free, resilience- and evidence-based programme for fifth- and sixth-class pupils. It also has a secondary school programme which supports young people as they begin their journey in secondary school.
While anxiety is a normal response to danger, it becomes an issue when it is more severe than it should be relative to the situation, lasts longer than it should or influences the way children function in their daily lives.
If children don’t have the right support, the situation can deteriorate to the extent that they withdraw from friends, family and school. Their anxiety can spiral to a point where it results in self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
It is to support children who feel anxious, and their parents/carers that the ISPCC offers several Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Programmes, including Space from Anxiety which is aimed at is aimed at 15–18-year-olds and is designed to empower young people who experience low to moderate anxiety.
The Supporting an Anxious Child or Supporting an Anxious Teen programmes help parents and carers to acquire the skills to help their kids help themselves.
ISPCC volunteer Dee Higgins believes that the programme is empowering for users of all ages. “It gives parents and young people a chance to deal with their anxieties before it becomes a huge issue,” she says, adding that “if parents can understand what their child is going through, that’s a huge step.”
Names and identifying information have been changed to protect the identity of children and young people. To find out more about ISPCC’s Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Programmes, go to https://www.ispcc.ie/guided-
