Helping Your Kids Manage Back to School Emotions & Anxiety with Melissa Clark, LPC-S

Raising Mentally Healthy Kids with Michelle Nietert

In the first half of my conversation with Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor Melissa Clark, we discussed how we can prepare our kids to return to school well and help them manage back-to-school stress. In this episode, we’re focusing on asking our kids the right questions to help them problem solve effectively and sharing about the power of intention to create calm in a chaotic situation. We also discuss how to help our kids with perfectionistic tendencies and how praying can give them confidence.

Key points from our conversation:

🥅 Having a purpose creates focus and intention, so helping your child set one goal for being at school can build confidence and lead to better mental health.

🤝 Serving others is one of the best things we can do for our mental health. Thinking outside ourselves distracts us from our worries and creates calm in a chaotic situation.

💪 Ask your kids about a problem they’re facing and ask them to think of 1 or 2 solutions. Bringing them into the process helps empower them to problem solve and ultimately acclimates them to life.

🧠 It’s important to help children with perfectionistic tendencies verbalize and understand they’re being perfectionistic. Often kids are identifying through academics instead of Christ and need to develop self-compassion.

📚 Every child faces personal challenges at school, but it’s important they understand that the messages they receive about themselves don’t define them. Ask them what they’re saying to themselves about themselves and the school year.

❓ Don’t monologue, ask questions. When you ask a question, you’re inviting your child to think and showing respect, then they model it back to you.

🙏 Spirituality is a strong component of mental health. Praying for our kids can give them confidence that God is with them. Encourage them to tap into God’s power throughout the day. Modeling prayer is also important. Ask them how you can pray for them.

Resources mentioned:

Love Her Well: 10 Ways to Find Joy and Connection with Your Teenage Daughter

Connect with Melissa: website | Instagram | Facebook

You can find more resources about mental health, parenting, and coping with anxiety at MichelleNietert.com.

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