Children and teens face high stress levels as the school year approaches, but experts say parents can help by starting simple conversations.
According to the American Institute of Stress, 75% of high school students and 50% of middle schoolers consistently feel stressed. Dr. Ariana Hoet, pediatric psychologist and executive clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation, said stress can occur even when good things are happening.
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"It happens because there's a change, right? We're going from the summer schedule back to a new school schedule, and so it creates stress," Hoet said. "That change simply causes a little bit of lack of control in our feelings and so it's normal for the adults and the kids to be feeling that way."
Hoet noted that kids carry what she described as an emotional backpack of feelings that can be difficult to identify as a parent. She said that's why it's important for parents to have conversations with their children to identify those feelings and work through them.
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"Unless we have conversations with them, we're not going to know what's going on in their little brains. And so we have to have conversations," Hoet said. "You may have children that are super, super excited. You may have children that are feeling very nervous. ... And those kids transitioning, let's say, to middle or high school — they may be nervous about walking to the class, opening their lockers, and so it's important to just check in and see what are you thinking about?"
Watch our full interview with Dr. Ariana Hoet in the video player above.
