Do you remember your first day at school? You probably felt excited, nervous, or even scared. These are normal emotions that most children experience when they start their education. However, for some children, these feelings can become overwhelming and interfere with their learning and development.

In first months of schooling almost every parent had experienced some kind of sudden child's sick feeling in morning following with no will to go to school anymore. But did you know the right reason for that ? Is child really had caught some kind of virus or eat bad food last night?

Yes, sometimes it could be just sweaty run back to home with open coat and glass of ice cold milk directly from fridge while you are not watching, but sometimes it could be more connected to child's emotional well being at the school.

Well, it also could be the school anxiety, but what is it?

Did you ever heard about it before? Or you think it is just few exceptional cases and it is not concerning you at all?

But seems school anxiety is a condition that makes children feel extremely scared and worried about going to school and the activities that happen there, such as making friends, speaking in public, or taking tests. School anxiety can affect children of all ages and backgrounds, and it can make them feel sick, sad, or angry. School anxiety can also make them avoid or miss school, which can affect their learning and development.

Well, at least some of school anxiety signs every parent could be noticed during child schooling, but how aware we as parents are about it? I have 3 grown ups myself, but I never had heard about this issue from anybody from school professionals, so I hope this could help some of you who still have children in schooling age.

How you can help your child?

Before asking for help around keep it in your family, talk to the child and ask every single day how was your day at school, all was good or something worried you? What was best that happened today? Do you follow the classes or you need some help from me too? Let them release his/her suppressed emotions, because not so much of emotional expressions are allowed in any educational establishment.

Here is few things how you can help your child at home by:

- Providing a safe and comfortable space for them to relax and unwind
-  Asking about their day and praising their efforts and achievements
- Modeling healthy coping skills and sharing your own challenges and solutions
- Help them to get organized, to make and follow his/her own must to do list
- Providing opportunities for socialization and fun with family and friends
- Giving them a grounding item that could be as secret empowering talisman

Be example, children are great copy makers, they watch how you cope with your own struggles in life and builds their confidence that they can do the same and will feel supported at home.

I had met great teacher, who proposed to parents to think about something that child can use as grounding item to overcome his anxiety.It could be some little talisman in a pocket to hold in hand when feeling uncomfortable, it could be just a fresh picked chestnut on the way to school or customized pencil box with some uplifting saying, food box with funny message inside or drink ware with his name, whatever can remind him, your are always there to back him. Just make sure you are not substitute these thing with sugar snacks. Sugar snacks will make them feel even more anxious than before.

We are prepared special offer to help your kid overcome school anxiety by very simple method - keep hydrated and sip every single time when feeling stressed and need calm down to keep focus or not to fall in bulling trap.

Drinking water can help overcome school anxiety in several ways. According to some studies, dehydration can cause or worsen anxiety, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, fatigue and headaches in children and adults. These symptoms can interfere with school performance and well-being. Therefore, staying hydrated can help prevent or reduce these negative effects and improve mood, energy level and cognitive function.

Additionally, drinking water can also provide some relief from anxiety by helping to regulate the body's temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and digestion. These are some of the physiological processes that are affected by the stress response. By keeping them stable, water can help the body cope better with stressful situations.

Some experts also suggest that drinking water can have a calming effect on the mind by creating a sense of fullness and satisfaction. This can reduce the urge to eat or drink something else that may worsen anxiety, such as caffeine, alcohol or sugary foods. Drinking water can also be a form of self-care and a way to distract oneself from anxious thoughts or feelings.

To reap the benefits of drinking water for school anxiety, it is important to drink enough water throughout the day. The exact amount may vary depending on age, weight, activity level and climate, but a general guideline is to drink about eight glasses of water per day. It may also help to drink water before, during and after school, especially if there are exams, presentations or other stressful events. Drinking water should be part of a balanced diet that includes other healthy foods and drinks that can support mental health.

Best regards and hope it helped you to be better parent and show your care.

Lita

Read more about research on benefits of drinking water to overcome anxiety here:

https://theconversation.com/water-really-can-provide-some-relief-from-anxiety-and-help-us-see-the-glass-half-full-177458

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1459

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908954/