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    The ABCs: Back to School

    • 11 minutes ago
    • 2 min read

    From the excitement of the very first day of preschool to the final first day of senior year, every new school year brings its own mix of challenges and uncertainty for the entire family. Adjusting to new routines, schedules, and expectations can be difficult for both children and the adults who care for them.


    Times of transition can be especially challenging for children and adults who have experienced trauma. When past experiences have taught them that the unknown can be unsafe, changes and uncertainty may trigger anticipatory anxiety, depression, irritability, or other emotional struggles.


    Jar of colored pencils spilling beside white ABC letters on a dark chalkboard, classroom-themed still life

    The evidence-based practice of Dialectic Behavioral Therapy provides us with the ABC of emotional regulation. The ABC's can help support you and your child with the transition back to school.


    Accumulate positive emotions:

    Illustrated poster of 5 senses with cute cartoon ear, hand, nose, tongue, and eye, labeled hearing, touch, smell, taste, sight.

    In the last days before the school year beings, take time to soak in positive moments with your 5 senses.

    A calm caretaker can make a world of difference in periods of transition. We can help facilitate this with our kids by engaging them in outdoor play, creative projects like drawing, painting, listening to music or connecting through our children’s interests. Engaging in this practice long-term can shift the way you and your child approaches upcoming transitions by illustrating the care and love you share with your child as they enter a new environment. Connection is healing!

    Build Mastery:

    Smiling woman helps a young girl knead dough in a cozy wooden kitchen, with flour, bowls, and warm light around them.

    When days start to feel overwhelming and like nothing is going our way, reminding ourselves of our talents and strengths can increase our ability to meet more challenging situations more readily. Engaging in hobbies, home/school tasks, and skills that make you or your child feel accomplished can increase self-esteem and reduce likelihood of making choices based only on feelings, rather than both feelings and facts.

    Cope ahead of time   

    Happy family playing on the living room floor, children high-fiving parents amid crayons and paper in a bright, cozy room

    The anticipation of a transition or unknown situation can lead our minds to run rampant with all the ways a situation could go wrong, leading to distress, worry, and anxiety. Connecting with ourselves and our children about the fears associated with the transition and how likely it will be that the situation will happen how our mind is telling us it will can let us approach the situation in a more balanced, calm manner. To dispel fears, talking through the process of what the day or situation will look like, and putting together a list of ways to cope if things go wrong can be helpful. These coping strategies may include making a list of accomplishments to remind ourselves of our worth, having a plan of how to contact support people, and engaging in mindfulness using our 5 senses by noticing the sensations, colors, and the world around us.


    Reviewing our ABCs can help enhance our ability to cope with transitions and times of stress and remind us of our worth in Christ.

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