Back-to-school: Anxiety

By Rachana Ramesh

Sunita, a homemaker and mother of a five-year-old, has noticed how her son has grown more attached to her during the pandemic. Like all other children, his school provided short study videos and printed worksheets to be completed at home and then submitted. “He, as my youngest child, is very much attached to me.  But this attachment has grown a bit too much during the pandemic,” she said. When the school conducted online classes, her son got to interact with his classmates virtually. “At the start of class, the kids would greet each other on the screens”, she said. Is this enough interaction for kids to be ready to go back to school? Young students haven’t interacted with each other for over a year and a half. Though parents are relieved that their child is going back to school, there is also the concern about how smooth the return will be.  

Parents of young students, who had with the usual difficulties eased their kids into the school routine, find themselves caught up in the same situation again. Used to staying at home with their parents on what looked like a never-ending holiday, young ones are finding it difficult to readjust to school. Even online learning was something they did with a parent, further increasing their dependency on them. Not only had their socialisation stopped, but to an extent reversed, as the parent, for now, was needed for everything.

Many parents were scared about the pandemic. But yet there were those who were anxiously waiting for schools to reopen and for children to get on with their lives. Narayana, a parent, had tweeted while the government had still not taken a call for primary schools to reopen: “I know this will rile up some folks, but what I really want is for schools to reopen for younger children (+4). Not interacting with other children their age is destroying their social skills and taking away precious early childhood experiences.”
Schools have reopened across the country after remaining shut for eighteen months. How do we expect children to get back to their old routine? Will they be anxious or eager? Clinical psychologist Smrithi Mary Saji of mindfulTMS is concerned. “It’s not like ‘back to school after a summer vacation’ but ‘back to school after a pandemic’. Is it safe to go back? Should I wear a mask the whole time? Is it safe to touch the corridor? And many more ruminating questions make the air more anxious”, says Dr Saji “After being in a comfort zone with familiar faces for a long duration, suddenly stepping into a remodelled world will be challenging”, she adds.

Children experience different kinds of anxiety in different social spaces. However, what all these symptoms have in common is that they tend to lock up the brain. Sometimes anxiety can be easy to identify. Like when a child is nervous before taking their annual test. Other times anxiety in the classroom can look like something entirely different -- an upset stomach, disruptive or angry behaviour, ADHD, or even a learning disorder.  The pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of children too. Healthcare experts have warned that the anxiety of socialisation can be a cause of concern for students returning to schools, as they had been physically away from their friends and teachers for a prolonged period. 

Healthcare experts have said children might experience difficulty in socializing. Parents are advised to look out for warning signs such as lack of concentration or sudden anger. Gracy Andrew, vice president, and country director, NGO CorStone, India, has advised parents to encourage and allow their children to express anxiety. “Very often parents will negate the feelings by saying ‘don’t be scared’ or ‘don’t be silly, there is nothing to be scared’- instead it is important to let children express their fears and acknowledge that it is natural to feel anxious. Next, is to really probe about what is making them scared? Is it just being with other children or is it fear of getting covid-19… then provide them with information about safety and the low risk of children getting severely sick even if they get infected? Parents can support children by just being there for them as they go back to school,” she said. Andrew said teachers can also work on letting their students express fear through classroom activities depending on the developmental age/level. 

Dr Saji says that steps should be taken to acknowledge the pain and validate the feelings of unease experienced by children: “Permit them to share their feelings, be available and build a connection to prevent loneliness. If your child is feeling moody, being distant, skipping school, having a poor appetite, disturbed sleep, crying unexpectedly, unable to focus, o