Executive Function Strategies Blog

We can feel the buzz in the air and vibrance in everyone’s step. I’m not talking about spring fever, I’m referring to our hope and excitement as we begin to imagine living in a post-pandemic world. As vaccinations become more widespread, so does everyone’s anticipation for a life resembling what we once had prior to COVID-19. 

But will your child be ready? 

We will never forget the fear as the pandemic blanketed us and the outside world closed. Overnight, schools went online or hybrid and Zoom became a student’s platform, while life as they had known it stopped. No one is living the same life as they were before COVID.

Now, finally, it’s here… you may be feeling cautiously optimistic about the big reopening. But wrapped in this optimism may be the undercurrent of anxiety in your child, and frankly, in all of us. 

What can we do to help our children prepare?

A few weeks ago, we gathered an expert panel of behavioral science and education professionals to discuss the complex process of treating anxiety in students. Although many of the insights they shared were directed toward practitioners who work with students, we couldn’t help but notice how relevant some of their advice was for parents, too. In this week’s article, we’ll be exploring a few of the best tips from our panelists for helping your child manage their anxiety independently, and what red flags to look out for when professional support may be needed. 

Picture this - you just finished your second Zoom meeting of the day. Your daughter is in the kitchen attending school remotely. She is a bright kid, but tends to be get distracted and off track during her remote classes. You walk into the kitchen to refill your coffee, but really your objective is to check in on her. As you walk in, she frantically closes a couple tabs on her computer.

There are many things people never tell you about parenting. For instance, how many fingernails you’ll clip, or that you may have to tell your son to stop chasing his sister with moldy bread (okay that second one may be a “me” thing)... 

However, the one quirk that we all were definitely not told about is that we’d have to parent through a pandemic. As many of us have discovered, there’s no handbook to refer to, everyone has different opinions, and the plan, whatever that may be, will inevitably change - frequently.