SC Now – Jill U. Adams
“Back-to-school season is upon us, and while some kids look forward to returning to class, others are a bundle of nerves. Parents may reassure and soothe, but they may also worry: Does my anxious child have a real problem? “Anxiety is a normal, healthy human emotion,” says John Walkup, a psychiatrist at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. That’s because there are plenty of things in our lives, and our children’s lives, to worry about, and worry can activate an appropriate response. A middle school student worried about an upcoming test should be motivated to study. A first-grader worried about a bee on the playground will move away to avoid being stung. But what about a third-grader who’s worried that something terrible will happen to her parents while she’s at school? That’s a worry that’s hard to quell and may leave the child in no state to learn the new math lesson.” (more)