How parents can manage ‘back-to-school’ stressors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - School is back in session for thousands of Kentucky and Indiana students.

Many parents also feel extra back-to-school stressors at the beginning of the school year. The responsibility of early wake-ups, transportation, after-school extracurriculars and the general work-school balance are often a big change from the summer schedule.

Jonathon White is a licensed clinical social worker for Norton Healthcare. He said it’s important for parents to find little ways to manage the added stress.

He suggests easy, deep-breathing exercises throughout the day, short nature walks as the weather changes to fall, and working as a family to find some other creative self-care strategies together.

”Right now, change is inevitable, change is predictable and it’s consistent,” White said. “And what we have to have is our own self-care plan, and that’s where we get grounded and rooted and stable in the moment. Because everything is changing, our routine does not have to change.”

White said managing stress is so important because of how many ways it can affect the body. Stress can harm the brain, the heart, the skin and the reproductive system.

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