Back to school anxiety: Start prepping kids for return to in-person learning weeks in advance, experts say

Parents can ease children’s transition to in-person learning after months of virtual schooling, depending on the district, through clear talks over safety guidelines, structured sleep schedules, validating worries and addressing grief after a tumultuous year, experts told Fox News.

Kids are going to have a lot of questions, and it’s important for parents to keep calm so children feel secure, Dr. Carmen Lopez-Arvizu, medical director of the psychiatric mental health clinic at Kennedy Krieger, told Fox News. "Children are going to be worried, they’re probably going to have some difficulty going to sleep in the days before school," she said. To help facilitate the transition back to school this fall, parents should first inform themselves of school districts' COVID-related safety guidelines and then begin to prepare the child weeks ahead of the new school year.