Dr. Annette Nunez shares ways parents can help their kids deal with stress and anxiety as a new school year begins amid the coronavirus pandemic.
INDIANAPOLIS — Many central Indiana schools have started the new school year either in-person or through e-learning. No matter which option your child is doing, they may be feeling a little stressed or anxious.
If kids stay home, they won’t be developing socialization and team building skills, as well as fighting feelings of missing out if their friends are at school.
If they go to school, they may have to deal with fear about the virus, along with the oddity of wearing masks at school all day and confusion of the new rules.
This will be especially true for children with disabilities but something all children will be dealing with
Dr. Annette Nunez, who specializes in treating children who deal with some of the effects kids may be experiencing right now, shares why it’s so important to try to get a head start on mental health issues with students of all ages.
“It’s very interesting through this pandemic because so much emphasis has been put on physical health and eating healthy, but through the years, a lot has been placed on mental health,” Nunez said. “Right now, we really need to shift our focus into mental health, not only for children but adults, because this whole unknown of what’s going to happen day-to-day, week-to-week is causing a lot of stress and anxiety, not only for children but also their parents.”
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“That stress and anxiety is felt within the home, so long term, this can have lasting effects,” Nunez said. “People must understand that your mental well-being affects your physical health, and if you’re not mentally strong or in a healthy place physically, you’re not going to be strong in a healthy place as well.”
She said the stress and anxiety children are feeling now within the home can come out in their behavior.
“This is a time where it’s really unknown for children, so they’re feeling a lot of stress and anxiety, and that’s coming out in sleep issues,” Nunez said. “Many children are waking up really early or in the middle of the night with night terrors. They’re also expressing physical ailments such as their stomach hurting or their head hurting. They have what we call ‘butterflies in the stomach,’ and they may not want to eat. We are also seeing a lot of behavioral and emotional mood swings, if you will.”
During these tough times, Nunez said children may have mood swings or become verbally aggressive, which could lead to emotional meltdowns.
She also said not dealing with the anxiety could have long-term effects on a child’s mental health.
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However, there are ways parents can help their students.
First, Nunez said it’s important to try and get a head start on mental health issues with students of all ages.
“What I encourage parents to do is to set up consistent Zoom dates or online dates with close friends, weekly, so it’s a weekly date,” Nunez said. “You can do things like playing charades or playing guessing games, and when the weather is nice out, you can have social distancing play dates with children where they can go for a bike ride or go hiking. This way, children aren’t feeling so isolated, and they’re having some type of interaction. This is good for all age groups.”
Next, Nunez said it’s important to involve children in the decision making to know what the school year will look like and the changes ahead.
“Make a pros and cons list. It doesn’t matter what age your child is — include that child in the pros and cons list of what works for the family,” Nunez said. “Does it work to have a child stay remotely at home and learn, or does it benefit a child to go into school? Having a child be involved in those conversations is really meaningful because right now, children feel like they have no control over their world at all.”
Although it may be tough, Nunez encourages parents to stay positive through the whole process.
“I think right now, it’s really a time to be as creative as possible. The one thing that I can tell parents across the board is that you’re not in control of the outside world, but you are in control of your environment,” Nunez said. “Keep a really positive mindset, especially during the waking hours and when your children are awake, because they are looking to you for guidance and comfort.”
And lastly, smile through it all to let them know it will all be OK.
“Your brain doesn’t know if you’re happy or not, but the action of smiling sends endorphins to the brain to make it think it’s happy,” Nunez said. “Practice smiling, 10 times, 20 times a day. Just exercise and smile throughout the day, and you’ll see a big change.”