Pediatrician Says Back-To-School Stress Affects Most Children

(KNSI) – Back-to-school time can be nerve-wracking for children.

Pediatricians work hard to try and limit the stress. Dr. Jill Amsberry talks about her conversations with kids at her practice.

“I’ll ask them, ‘How are you feeling about going back to school?’ and the most common answers I get are excited, nervous, or terrified. So, we’ll talk about some of the things that they can focus on that might be positive, and that might include meeting new friends.”

Amsberry says she highlights to her patients that their feelings aren’t unique. She says most of the children she sees feel some trepidation. Dr. Amsberry encourages parents to be a sounding board for their kids and actively listen when they are ready to discuss something.

Amsberry’s practice switches gears, just like her patients, when school returns. Summer is typically characterized by athletic physicals, rashes, and scrapes and cuts from play. In the fall, it turns to disease, but not right away.

“After school starts, we typically see a lull in our clinic needs for about two to four weeks until they have that chance to really spread those germs around, and that’s when our winter — fall/winter viral season begins.”

Dr. Amsberry says the viral season really takes off in late October and November. It typically mirrors what adults see, but certain diseases like Respiratory Syncytial Virus will hit vulnerable kids hard.

Amsberry says newer diseases like COVID-19 still show a lot of variability. Some kids never get sick at all, many others will only have nuisance symptoms like a runny nose or cough, but some can become sick enough that they have to be treated at a hospital.

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