Tips for parents to ease back to school anxiety in kids

Sometimes, new-school-year jitters are exciting for kids. Other times, they're anxiety-inducing.

A local mental health expert and therapist says there are simple things you can do at home to ease the transition and the stress for everyone in your home.

"Most children just need to know that someone's there and that they understand, and that they've got their back," says Lex Remillard, a mental health therapist specializing in kids and young adults.

He says the key to easing back-to-school anxiety is connection.

Anxiety, he adds, is usually driven by fear.

"Sometimes parents will buy into that fear, and they'll start trying to make it okay," Remillard says. "By doing that, it doesn't actually make it okay. It kind of compounds the issue."

Instead, he says, turn that fear into enthusiasm.

"Remind them how they are seeing their friends and getting new teachers," he says. "Tell them how this whole year is going to be so great and that they're growing."

And we can't grow, he says, unless we face and embrace change.

"You want to let them know that they're in an amazing part of their life," he says. "It can be difficult emotionally, but all of the difficulty is where growth comes from. It should feel scary because you're growing, and it's a positive thing."

Here's a big piece to this puzzle.

Remillard says parents often project their own anxiety onto their kids.

Breaking the cycle starts with grownups in the room.

"Parents, you need to take care of yourself," he says. "I'm asking your child to take care of themselves. Everyone has to be responsible for their part. How are you taking care of yourself?

Are you dealing with your own stuff? Because when you deal with it, you're actually more present in someone else's life, and that's the path."

Remillard also says that we have to be authentic with kids. Be real.

If you're having a bad day, share that. This isn't about perfection, It's about connection.