Until the 1980s, popular wisdom was that children weren't intellectually developed enough to experience depression and anxiety. But psychologists are giving anxiety disorders in youths more serious attention.
Tamar Chansky, author of "Freeing Your Child From Anxiety," offers the following tips and this advice: "If your child is having difficulty sleeping, asking lots of 'what if' questions, crying, clinging or whining more than usual, these may be signs of anxiety."
Normalize their fears. Every child is feeling the same thing that they are. Even the teachers feel nervous at first when school starts.
Share a story. Tell how you dealt with going to school or another new situation. Let your child know that things don't stay new forever. Help think of a time when your child was faced with something new and got used to it. How long did it take?
Play "school." Switch off roles, letting your child be the teacher and the pupil.
Make a list. Have your child write down fears on one side of the page, then help correct the distortions by writing the "facts" on the other side of the page. Fold the paper and keep the facts side up.
Handle concrete issues. Think up strategies for things such as finding the right bus line and finding a seat in the cafeteria.
Make it fun. Go shopping with friends for school supplies or lunchboxes. Decorate books together.
