Dear Readers,

Fall is here in the northeast—the leaves are turning golden, mums and pumpkins are popping up in gardens, plants are dying back (no more weeding, yay!), and the air is crisp and chilly in the morning now when I take my dog, Benny, out for a run. It’s my favorite time of the year. But for the millions of children with school anxiety, they’ve been suffering now for over a month, making their daily school experience a nightmare.

Kids are starting to come in to my practice in droves with test and homework anxiety; fears that they haven’t been able to make friends or last years BFF’s aren’t talking to them anymore; and worries about falling behind in class work. Many of these children are developing separation anxiety and the panicky symptoms they experience are frightening them. It’s hard for a child to cope when you’re heart feels like it’s pounding out of your chest, your stomach hurts every school morning, and you feel a sense of dread that can’t be explained to your parents or teachers, or even yourself. You just know that going to school feels like “death” as one 5th grader said to me recently. Because you can’t just think anxiety away, many of these kids are falling into depression too.

This past September I was interviewed about school anxiety by Lisa Stroyan and Amy Makice, both moms and professionals who created the website, Parenting for Humanity, where they discuss “empathic, respectful, non-punitive parenting” on blogs, on BlogTalkRadio, in workshops and podcasts. 

In case you missed my interview I’m including the podcast on this post as well as links to the Parenting for Humanity website, blogs and other podcasts.  

Download | Duration: 00:59:42

Please enjoy and join the discussion on my blog or theirs.

Regards,

Diane