With school soon to start, some students could develop a bit of anxiety heading back to classrooms this September.
That's why Angela Milleker, a counselor with the family intervention program at Envision Counseling Services, gave some tips on how to help kids as they're getting the year started.
"What I would say to parents is that they set the tone for their child's perception of the process of going back to school and for the coming year. They can listen to their kid's feelings if they're concerned at all, and rather than trying to fix things, they listen to their kids and validate those feelings. Let their children's curiosity be their key to how this is going to go."
There are a wide number of different reasons a student might be stressed.
"Kids might be concerned about making friendships, new friendships specifically, or the level of homework that's coming home or learning something new. As always listening to hear about other people and asking some questions, letting curiosity guide you, and welcoming new friendships is always a good way to start."
Milleker says they often see more kids and parents coming in to deal with school anxiety around this time.
"We do see increased numbers at that time. A lot of kids feel anxiety and concerns about how things are going. Mostly it's building on strengths and recognizing that everybody experiences anxiety and fear, but we can usually draw a path of success to overcome those things and to learn that we can move forward and be brave."
She recommends breathing exercises and working through possible solutions as some practices that can be beneficial in managing stress.
"If they're in the beginning stages of being stressed, what they can do is practice some breathing, some mindfulness activities. If it's further on in the process, talk through with your parents or your kids about what are some solutions, and don't judge what the solutions would be. Just list them out for yourself, and then determine what's one thing I can do at this moment to make it through."
In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, DiscoverEstevan encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverEstevan app.