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American Morning

For Some Children, School a Source of Real Anxiety

Aired August 19, 2002 - 08:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For children in the South, school is already in session. In the North, the first day of school is a few days away. Most kids are not thrilled about hitting the books. And for a few, school is a source of real anxiety. How do you know when your child has crossed the line from unhappiness to dread, and how can you help smooth a path to the classroom?
Some answers this morning. Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to tell us all about it.

Sanjay, good morning.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

It can be anxiety-provoking time, no question about it, and especially 5 to 7-year-olds and 11 to 14-year-olds. Those kids are likely to call in sick the first couple of days, in part because a new day of school. Also in part because usually a new school in those age groups. So a lot of those kids are very concerning. Kids can worry about just about anything. And no doubt they worry if their teachers are going to like them, if their colleagues are going to like them, how are they going to get home after school. They have all of these concerns that may seem pretty obvious to parents, but not all so obvious to the kids. And that leads to a lot of different tips that parents can hear about from various experts, and also kids can keep track as well.

For the parents, display calm and confidence. The kids pick up on that, no question about it.

You might want to actually get the kids to play school ahead of time, especially if it's their first time at a school period. They might get a sense of what will really happen at school.

Shift the schedules to an earlier time for sleep schedules. This is something that kind of helps all of us through any kind of transition, actually making sure that we get actually awake at the time we're supposed to be awake. Visit the school and meet with the teacher ahead of time.

Make pals with the other kids. Some parents will set up play dates with the other kids after the first day of school, so they will be able to have a familiar face, be able to meet with them afterwards. Phone numbers -- make sure they know your home phone number, make sure they know the phone number of information, things like that. There are also some tips on actually easing jitters for the first day of school. You know, for the first day, this can be the most strenuous day for sure. Pack a comfort item. We always hear about blankets, things like that. A familiar food might do it for some kids, just a familiar food they may make them feel at lunch time. They may feel better.

Keep the goodbyes short. It may be very hard to actually pry a clinging kid away from your leg, but it's a really important thing to do. Say goodbye, move on, we'll see you at the end of the day.

Focus on all of the good things at school, certainly the play time, the recess time, the fact they will be learning, those are very important things for the kids to know as well. And allow the child to be a little needy the first few days. Certainly if it's gets beyond a couple of days, that's going to be a long time, but the first few days, it's not unexpected the kid's going to have some anxiety, is going to be somewhat needy.

HEMMER: Good stuff to know, especially this time of year. I have got a niece headed for high school. She's anxious, a little nervous, but ready to go.

GUPTA: We all were, no question about it.

HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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