3 Back to School Mental Health Tips for Parents

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During the transition back to school, parent mental health is as important as child mental health. That’s why we’re excited to share 3 back-to-school mental health tips just for parents.

These back-to-school mental health tips for parents are based on Little Otter’s experience in family mental wellness.

Not only do parents have to think about their children’s worries about going back to school, but also how to best prepare themselves and manage their own anxiety. Here are three back-to-school mental health tips, just for parents and families.

1. Take Care of Your Own Mental Health

Parent mental health is essential for child mental health. 

We know that one of the best ways to support a child's mental health is to make sure that the child's caregiver’s mental health is strong. 

If you're facing challenges of anxiety or depression, or having conflict in your relationship with your partner, getting help helps more than yourself. You're actually going to be helping your child. Your mental health is one of the biggest gifts you can give your children. 

As a parent, it’s helpful to model the self-care behaviors we want our children to have.

For example, when we’re at the brink of, “I can't handle anything right now. I'm so exhausted,” we’re teaching our kids that it’s okay to get to that place. But we don’t want to teach them that. We want to teach them, “When I get to an exhausting place, I take care of myself. Sometimes even before I become exhausted, I do things to make sure I'm caring for myself, and talking about my feelings with other people.”

As a parent, when you take care that you don’t become overwhelmed, exhausted, and burnt out, you’re modeling self-care for your child, too. You’re showing your child you know it’s okay to have big feelings, while also showing them how to navigate those feelings.

2. Accept that You Won’t Always Have The Right Answers

As part of our human experience, and as part of our parenting experience, there will be times when we’re tired, when we don't have all the right answers, and when we don't behave the way we thought we should in the moment for our children. And that's okay. How we recover from those moments - and show our children how they can recover - is what’s important.

Parents often ask, “If I'm upset with my kid, and I walk away and need to take a break, is that okay?” The answer is “Absolutely.” That helps your child learn that when they’re upset, they take a break and calm down, instead of saying things they don’t mean. 

Adoring and loving your child and needing breaks are not mutually exclusive. That is the human parenting experience. 

Simply by accepting that you won’t always know the perfect way to react in a given situation can provide a little relief and a little more grace.

3. Reconnect With What Makes Your Family Unique

Families and parents need support in dealing with their own stress and experiences around children going back to school.

The unique challenge of the moment is finding answers to questions like:

• How do we process and manage our feelings and experiences?

• How do we take care of each other?

• How can we create meaning out of experiences that we don't control?

Ultimately, this is about coming to terms with the reality that we can't control the things that are outside of ourselves. All we can do is find ways to control our own big feelings - as adults, as children, and as families. Typically, this involves either having people to talk to, or creating healthy “time out.”

It’s important for families to be connected, have clarity about their core values, and know how to support each other.

From all of us at Little Otter, we wish you a healthy transition back to work and school. And if you’re looking for mental health support for your whole family, we’re here for you! Learn more at the link below.