PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Back-to-school season is here, and for many families so are the first day of school jitters.
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The Palm Beach County School District will return to class on Aug. 10, and mental health experts say now is the time to sit down with your children and make sure their transition is as smooth as possible.
"A lot of our teens and children are anxious," said Sharron Frederick, a clinical social worker and therapist for Clarity Health Solutions in Jupiter. "I think it's just about creating a lot of awareness about things that they can do to help calm them down. Exercise is so important, along with getting out of the house."
BACK TO SCHOOL🎒✏️📚"Increments are the way to slowly change to make changes into your life. Go outside for an hour. Leave your phone and work your way up to do half a day, then go out for a full day. Make that commitment and say ‘okay for one hour, I'm going to disconnect" #wptv pic.twitter.com/w2I6xkkK1M
— Linnie Supall WPTV (@LinnieSupall) July 29, 2021
Frederick encourages families who are feeling anxious to take time to disconnect from their daily routine by starting an hour outside to relax or listen to music.
When feelings of anxiety arise, Frederick also recommends kids have an "anxiety toolbox" on hand.
"It could have bubbles in there for younger children to help with deep breathing," Frederick said. "We teach them to blow bubbles to help them to learn to breathe in and to breathe out. The older teens could blow into balloons."
Click here for more information about how to ease your children through the start of the new school year.