{"id":37151,"date":"2024-09-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/?p=37151"},"modified":"2024-09-05T13:14:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T17:14:47","slug":"tips-for-parents-struggling-with-back-to-school-adhd-and-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/articles\/tips-for-parents-struggling-with-back-to-school-adhd-and-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"7 tips for parents coping with their own back-to-school ADHD and Anxiety\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Your kids have been back in school for a few weeks now. They\u2019re settling into routines, navigating class schedules, and gearing up for after-school activities. And they\u2019re doing great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But how are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re still battling anxiety<\/a>, drowning in overwhelm, or struggling to achieve focus, you\u2019re not alone. The back-to-school season, which many parents say lasts until early November, is just as stressful for parents as it is for students\u2013if not more so. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why you might be feeling anxious or distracted<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a summer of loose schedules and lots of together-time, the uncertainty around the new season peaks for kids in the days leading up to the first day of school. Once they meet the teacher, see which friends are in their classes, and get used to the new routine, they\u2019re on their way. But parents won\u2019t meet the teacher for another few weeks or only briefly and often have little insight into the details of the day. Sitting at home or at work, wondering what is happening inside the school building, can create anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that doesn\u2019t even factor in modern worries about what happens in school, mountains of forms and papers to fill out and manage, new drop-off and pick-up routines to set up, and extracurricular schedules to keep track of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can parents do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, we\u2019ve got tips for any parent experiencing ADHD<\/a>, Anxiety, or both. These ideas can not only help you feel better but also help you create a calm home environment and set up your kids for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Uncover routines that worked<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Take a moment to think through the routines you used last Fall or, even better, the ones you still had in the Spring. Just because we\u2019re entering a new season doesn\u2019t mean you have to start from scratch and create an entirely new rhythm. \u201cPaying attention to your strengths, and thinking about what you did to be successful last year, can help continue those successes this year.\u201d says Melanie Bieber, a licensed professional counselor and co-author of Aaron Daniel Henry Davis: Just Another Day at School<\/em><\/a>, a resource book for children with ADHD and their parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Ask for help<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Whether your ADHD leaves you struggling against the influx of school forms or your anxiety makes morning drop-off a rough way to start the day for everyone, it\u2019s always OK to ask for help. Talk with your partner or co-parent to see if you can better balance the work of this season. When each of you pick the tasks that play to your particular strengths, you\u2019ll all feel better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Focus on growth<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        In the midst of getting homework done, packing lunches, and keeping track of all the shoes, it\u2019s normal to feel as though you\u2019re stuck in a never-ending cycle of caregiving. Which makes this a great time to continue reflecting back to last year. Your child is learning, growing, and becoming more independent\u2013all the things you want as a parent. Noticing what they can do this year that they couldn\u2019t last year is a powerful way to center yourself during this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        1. Involve your kids in the organization<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          All that growth means a few things, not the least of which is that your kids can probably help out more this year than they did last year. If your ADHD makes it difficult for you to get everyone out of the house on time, empower your most time-aware kiddo to keep everyone on track. If your anxiety distracts you from asking to see forms that come home from school, create a place in the kitchen where each kid knows to leave their important papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          1. Talk about it<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            If you take nothing else from these tips, take comfort in knowing you\u2019re not alone. Your friends and siblings, parents of your kids\u2019 friends and even teachers all feel elements of anxiety, distraction, and overwhelm at this time of year. Find someone who is in the same spot to talk to\u2013sharing the experience can make it feel lighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            1. Feel the feelings<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              The Fall season is a big time for you and your children. Trying to ignore that or downplay it will only make things worse. Build in some extra time to just sit with the feelings\u2013even if it\u2019s five minutes to get misty-eyed between drop off and your commute to work or a deep breath before you go in to pick them up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              1. See the big picture<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                Yes, this is a busy time of year. The pressure to do it all, and do it all perfectly, is strong. But remember that the environment you create at home is more important than all the activities, forms, and homework sheets. In the bigger picture, knowing they will come home to a calm and attentive parent is more important for your kids than going to every practice or handing in every worksheet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                It\u2019s normal to feel like this season will never end when you\u2019re right in the middle of it. But before you know it, everyone, even you, will have settled into the new season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                These 7 tips for parents who feel anxiety and ADHD symptoms around back to school time will help everyone have a successful start to the school year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":37152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[185,88,89,83,90],"content_type":[39],"class_list":["post-37151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-adhd-challenges","tag-parents-family","tag-students","tag-teens","tag-tools-tips","content_type-article"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37151"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhdonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=37151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}