Back-to-School Anxiety

The beginning of a new school year can bring excitement, anticipation, and a fresh sense of possibility. New classes, new teachers, new routines, and new friendships can give children and teens something to look forward to.

At the same time, the transition back to school can bring a surprising amount of anxiety.

A child may be excited about seeing friends but worried about whether they will fit in. A teenager may be looking forward to a new year while quietly worrying about grades, social expectations, or what comes next. Parents may find themselves wondering whether their child will be happy, safe, and successful. Teachers and school staff are preparing for a demanding year of their own, often while carrying concerns about workload, classroom needs, and their ability to support every student.

In other words, back-to-school anxiety is not limited to students. The transition can affect the entire family and the adults who work in schools.

The good news is that some anxiety around change is manageable, and there are practical ways to make the transition feel more predictable and supported.

Why Does Going Back to School Cause Anxiety?

Transitions involve uncertainty, and uncertainty can be difficult for an anxious brain.

Even when a child has attended the same school for years, a new grade can mean a different teacher, different expectations, different classmates, or a different level of academic and social pressure. Moving to a new school or starting kindergarten, high school, or post-secondary education can bring an even greater sense of uncertainty.

Research on school transitions suggests that these periods can have meaningful implications for young people's mental health and wellbeing, which is one reason preparation and support matter (Donaldson et al., 2023).

For some children, the anxiety is relatively mild. They may feel butterflies in their stomach on the first morning but settle once they reconnect with friends and get back into a routine.

For others, the worry can be much more intense. A child may spend weeks worrying about school, develop physical symptoms, become increasingly distressed about attending, or begin refusing to go. Anxiety is strongly associated with school refusal, but school attendance difficulties can also involve social relationships, learning needs, family circumstances, and other school-related factors (Leduc et al., 2024; Tekin & Aydın, 2022).

Understanding the difference is important. Not every nervous child needs therapy, but significant or persistent anxiety deserves attention rather than being dismissed as simply a case of "school jitters."

Back-to-School Anxiety in Children and Teens

Children and teenagers do not always say, "I'm anxious about school."

Instead, anxiety may show up through behaviour, physical complaints, changes in sleep, or a sudden reluctance to do things they normally enjoy.

A younger child might become clingier, have difficulty separating from a parent, complain of stomachaches, or repeatedly ask questions about what will happen at school.

An older child or teenager may become irritable, withdraw from family or friends, have trouble sleeping, worry excessively about grades or social situations, or become preoccupied with making mistakes.

The source of the worry can vary considerably. Some children are concerned about making friends or fitting in. Others are worried about academic performance, a new teacher, speaking in front of the class, sports, or being separated from their parents. A child who had a difficult experience at school the previous year may also feel anxious about returning, particularly if bullying, social difficulties, learning challenges, or another stressful experience was involved.

School refusal is not simply a matter of a child being unwilling to attend. Research suggests that it can be connected to anxiety as well as a range of individual, family, peer, and school-related factors (Leduc et al., 2024). Looking beneath the behaviour can therefore be much more helpful than assuming a child is simply being defiant or difficult.

Physical symptoms are another important piece of the picture. Anxiety can sometimes appear as headaches, stomachaches, nausea, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, or a general feeling of being unwell. These symptoms should not automatically be attributed to anxiety, however. When physical complaints are frequent or persistent, it is important to consider both physical and emotional explanations.

When School Anxiety Becomes School Avoidance

One of the more concerning signs is a growing pattern of school avoidance or refusal.

A child who says, "I don't want to go to school tomorrow" is not necessarily experiencing a serious problem. Many children have mornings when they would rather stay in bed.

The picture changes when anxiety begins interfering with attendance or everyday functioning.

School refusal is associated with anxiety, including separation anxiety, social anxiety, and school-related anxiety. Research also suggests that learning needs, peer difficulties, family factors, and school experiences can all play a role (Leduc et al., 2024; Tekin & Aydın, 2022).

If your child is regularly missing school, experiencing intense distress before school, or becoming increasingly unable to participate, it is worth looking beyond the immediate behaviour and asking what the anxiety may be communicating.

The goal is not simply to convince a child to "be brave" and walk through the school doors. Understanding what is making school feel unsafe, overwhelming, or unmanageable is an important part of finding a way forward.

How Parents Can Help With Back-to-School Anxiety

Parents cannot remove every source of anxiety from a child's life. They can, however, help make uncertainty more manageable.

One place to start is with routine. Sleep schedules, morning routines, meals, transportation, and extracurricular activities can all change when school starts. Gradually returning to a school-year routine can make the first week feel less abrupt. The goal is not to create a perfectly organized household. It is simply to reduce the number of changes happening all at once.

It can also help to talk about worries without immediately trying to fix them. When a child says, "I'm scared I'm not going to make any friends," it is tempting to respond with reassurance: "Of course you'll make friends!" Although reassurance can be comforting, sometimes children first need to feel heard.

Try asking, "What part of that worries you the most?"

That question can reveal whether the concern is about making friends, being rejected, eating lunch alone, being bullied, or something entirely different.

For children who are nervous about a new school, preparation can make the unfamiliar feel more manageable. Walking through the building, finding the classroom, reviewing the schedule, or meeting a teacher ahead of time may reduce some of the uncertainty. School transition interventions have been studied as one way of supporting children's mental health and wellbeing during periods of change (Donaldson et al., 2023).

It is also worth paying attention to avoidance. When anxiety appears, the instinct can be to remove whatever is causing the discomfort. Sometimes that is exactly the right thing to do, particularly when a child is genuinely unsafe or facing bullying or another serious concern.

When anxiety is driving avoidance of ordinary challenges, however, repeatedly escaping the situation can make returning to it feel even harder. Supporting a child through manageable steps can be more helpful than expecting them to feel completely confident before they act.

Parents can also help children notice their own progress. Instead of focusing only on whether a child felt anxious, ask what they were able to do while they were anxious.

"That was hard, and you still went into the classroom."

"You were nervous about talking to someone new, and you gave it a try."

These kinds of conversations help children learn that anxiety does not necessarily have to disappear before they can move forward.

Parents Experience Back-to-School Anxiety Too

Sometimes the person lying awake the night before school starts is not the child. It is the parent.

Parents may worry about whether their child will make friends, keep up academically, cope with a difficult teacher, deal with bullying, or manage a new level of independence.

There can also be a more emotional kind of anxiety.

The first day of kindergarten, middle school, high school, or university can be a reminder that a child is growing up. Parents may feel proud, excited, sad, relieved, nervous, or all of these things at once.

And sometimes parental anxiety comes from a very understandable place: wanting to protect your child from experiences that may hurt.

The challenge is finding a balance between being appropriately attentive and allowing a child to develop confidence through their own experiences.

Research suggests that supporting parents can be a meaningful part of helping children with anxiety. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that parent-only interventions can reduce anxiety symptoms in children, although the evidence varies across different approaches and not every family will benefit in exactly the same way (Jewell et al., 2022).

It can help for parents to occasionally ask themselves, "Is this something my child needs help solving, or something I am having difficulty tolerating?"

That distinction can be surprisingly useful.

You can be available without constantly checking. You can listen without immediately intervening. You can communicate with the school when there is a genuine concern while still giving your child opportunities to handle age-appropriate problems independently.

And if you notice that your own anxiety is becoming difficult to manage, that matters too. Parents deserve support, rather than having to carry their worries quietly because their child is the one returning to school.

Teachers and School Staff Experience Back-to-School Stress Too

The beginning of the school year can be demanding for educators and school staff.

Teachers are not simply preparing lesson plans and classrooms. They are entering a new year of relationships, expectations, administrative responsibilities, classroom management, and emotional demands.

They may wonder, "Will I be able to meet the needs of my students?" They may worry about what the new class will be like, whether they will have enough support, or how they will manage everything that needs to be done.

Research consistently identifies teacher wellbeing as an important concern. Factors associated with teacher wellbeing include workload, professional relationships, autonomy, support, and broader working conditions (Zhou et al., 2024). A systematic review of teacher wellbeing similarly highlights the importance of looking beyond individual coping strategies and considering the wider environment in which educators work (Ozturk et al., 2024).

That is important because the answer to teacher stress cannot simply be "take better care of yourself." Individual coping strategies can help, but working conditions and organizational support matter too.

For educators, the start of the school year may be a good time to consider what is sustainable rather than what would be ideal.

Setting priorities can help. So can identifying which responsibilities truly require immediate attention and which can wait.

Connection matters as well. Supportive relationships with colleagues can provide practical and emotional support during demanding periods. Short breaks, movement, adequate sleep, realistic expectations, and opportunities to disconnect from work can all contribute to wellbeing. But self-care should not become another item on an already impossible to-do list.

For teachers experiencing significant stress, anxiety, or burnout, professional support can also be worthwhile. Research examining interventions for teachers suggests that psychological programs can improve outcomes such as stress, anxiety, burnout, and wellbeing, although the research varies in quality and interventions are not a substitute for addressing unhealthy workplace conditions (Beames et al., 2023).

What Can Help the Whole Family?

Although every person experiences back-to-school anxiety differently, a few simple principles can make the transition easier.

Predictability can help. Knowing what is coming can make an unfamiliar situation feel more manageable, particularly for children who find unexpected changes difficult.

Sleep matters too. A child or adult who is exhausted may have fewer resources available to cope with stress. Returning gradually to a consistent sleep schedule before school begins can make the transition easier.

Movement can also be useful. Research suggests that physical activity may reduce anxiety symptoms in children and young people, although it should be viewed as one supportive strategy rather than a replacement for professional treatment when treatment is needed (Rodriguez-Ayllon et al., 2019).

Perhaps most importantly, connection matters. Talking to someone who listens without minimizing the worry can make a difficult transition feel less lonely.

The goal does not have to be feeling completely confident on the first day. Sometimes the goal is simply taking the next manageable step.

A child who is anxious is not weak. A parent who is worried is not failing. A teacher who feels overwhelmed is not necessarily doing a poor job.

Sometimes anxiety is a signal that something feels important, uncertain, difficult, or overwhelming.

The question is what we do with that signal.

When Is It Time to Seek Professional Support?

Some back-to-school anxiety settles as children and adults become familiar with the new routine.

Other times, the anxiety continues or becomes more disruptive.

If anxiety is interfering significantly with school attendance, causing persistent sleep or physical problems, leading to frequent school refusal or avoidance, affecting friendships or family relationships, or interfering with academic or everyday functioning, additional support may be helpful.

The same applies to parents, teachers, and school staff. If worry or stress is becoming difficult to manage, affecting sleep, relationships, work, or overall wellbeing, there is no need to wait until you reach a breaking point before seeking help.

Therapy can provide a space to understand what is driving the anxiety and develop strategies for coping with it. For children and teens, involving parents can also be an important part of treatment.

The goal is not to make a young person completely free from worry. It is to help them develop greater confidence in their ability to understand and manage difficult emotions and experiences.

How Authentic Living London Can Help

At Authentic Living London, we understand that the transition back to school can affect more than the student sitting in the classroom.

Our therapists can support children and adolescents experiencing school-related anxiety, parents who are struggling with worry or family stress, and adults who are feeling overwhelmed by work-related anxiety or other pressures.

Counselling can provide a place to slow things down, understand what is happening beneath the anxiety, and develop practical ways of coping with the challenges of the school year.

We offer both in-person and virtual counselling, making support accessible for families, students, and busy professionals.

If back-to-school anxiety is beginning to affect your child's wellbeing, your family relationships, or your own ability to cope, you do not have to wait until things become overwhelming before reaching out.

Authentic Living London is here to help you navigate the transition with greater understanding, support, and confidence.

Call 226-224-0301 or email info@authenticlivinglondon.com to learn more about counselling in London, Ontario.

Author, Karissa Paterson, registered psychotherapist - qualifying, BA, MACP, specializes in adolescent related issues. Outside of her work at Authentic Living London, Karissa works for the City of London with at-risk youths.

References

Beames, J. R., Spanos, S., Roberts, A., McGillivray, L., Li, S., Newby, J. M., O'Dea, B., & Werner-Seidler, A. (2023). Intervention programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school teachers: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Educational Psychology Review, 35, 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09720-w

Donaldson, C., Moore, G., & Hawkins, J. (2023). A systematic review of school transition interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes in children and young people. School Mental Health, 15, 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09539-w

Jewell, C., Wittkowski, A., & Pratt, D. (2022). The impact of parent-only interventions on child anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 309, 324–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.082

Leduc, K., Tougas, A.-M., Robert, V., & Boulanger, C. (2024). School refusal in youth: A systematic review of ecological factors. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 55(4), 1044–1062. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01469-7

Ozturk, M., Wigelsworth, M., & Squires, G. (2024). A systematic review of primary school teachers' wellbeing: Room for a holistic approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1358424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1358424

Rodriguez-Ayllon, M., Cadenas-Sanchez, C., Estevez-Lopez, F., Muñoz, N. E., Mora-Gonzalez, J., Migueles, J. H., Molina-Garcia, P., Henriksson, H., Mena-Molina, A., Martínez-Vizcaíno, V., Catena, A., Löf, M., Ericsson, I., Ortega, F. B., & Esteban-Cornejo, I. (2019). Role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the mental health of preschoolers, children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 49(9), 1383–1410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01099-5

Tekin, I., & Aydın, S. (2022). School refusal and anxiety among children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2022(185–186), 43–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20484

Zhou, S., Slemp, G. R., & Vella-Brodrick, D. A. (2024). Factors associated with teacher wellbeing: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 36, 63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09886-x