Helping Kids EASE Back into In-Person Schooling
Edited by Rose Perry, Ph.D. & Stephen Braren
As children and parents prepare for the transition back to in-person schooling this fall, they can rely on the “EASE” acronym to help the adjustment back to full-time social interactions go smoothly.
After more than a year of virtual schooling and social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many children and adolescents are finally preparing for the return to full-time, in-person learning for the upcoming school year. Although children (and caregivers) will undoubtedly benefit from going back to school in person, returning to normalcy may be met with challenges and difficulties. Having some strategies for dealing with these issues will be important for making the transition back to the classroom manageable. In this article, we present a handful of such strategies that could benefit both children and their parents as in-person schooling resumes.
Children have faced many struggles due to social isolation and remote learning because of COVID that have resulted in both academic and social-emotional disruptions, especially among minority and underrepresented groups [1]. Unfortunately, due to COVID, many children have not had much, if any, direct in-person interaction with their friends and peers. As we have previously discussed, these face-to-face interactions between kids are important for fostering a child’s social connectedness. And in turn, social connectedness plays an important role in children’s well-being, promoting healthy development, physical and mental health, and personal growth.
As Rebecca Rialon Berry, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University Langone Health says, “There’s a key connection between having good peer interactions and social emotional well-being. In certain populations, we’re seeing that our depression and anxiety are heightening with continued quarantining.”
Yet, despite the struggles that prolonged separation from peers can cause, it should not come as a surprise if some children exhibit mixed emotions, or even anxiety, as they prepare to return to school full time.
"I already see children having higher levels of anxiety about going back to school," reports child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, Dr. Samantha Saltz. "There’s significant concerns about loneliness. They’ve been away for a while. They are concerned about how they are going to reintegrate with the other children socially, who they are going to fit in with, what kind of groups they are going to be a part of."
Children may also have anxiety about returning to school because they’ve become accustomed to their home routine and immediate social circle.
The good news is there are several ways parents and guardians can alleviate some of their children’s fears, anxieties, or difficulties with the transition back to school while promoting social connectedness. One such tool is the EASE acronym, created by the late, great John Cacioppo—psychologist and former director of University of Chicago’s Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience—to help people ease their way back into social connections after periods of isolation. Below we provide some details outlining each of the steps involved in following the EASE approach.
E - Extend Yourself Safely
After more than a year of seeing faces on a computer screen, it’s understandable if your child is hesitant to step back into the classroom and socialize with their peers in the same capacity as before. Leading up to the return to school, help your child extend themselves into social situations and interactions by doing so cautiously, a little bit at a time. One way to do this is to reach out to and reconnect with fellow classmates from the previous semester. If your child is starting a new school, try to visit the school before the program starts so that your child can begin to familiarize themselves with the new environment. You could also reach out to connect with your kid’s teacher or coach ahead of the start of school.
A - Make an Action Plan
This means first recognizing and validating any anxiety your child has about returning to school, and then coming up with an actionable plan to help them develop a sense of emotional control around social situations. You can find social outlets that best suit you and your child’s needs and goals. If you want to join an after-school activity, for example, participating in something you’re already familiar with and enjoy might be a better option than something completely new. Another part of making an action plan is establishing a routine that you can stick to and a schedule you can follow.
S - Seek Collectives
Help your child find similar, like-minded peers to interact with. This could mean, for instance, joining a new club, after-school activity, or sports team so that your kid can connect with others who have similar interests, activities, values. The key is to look for and select people who share common qualities in some way. This will make it easier for them to find synergy and to fall back into routines of high-quality interaction with peers. And don’t forget that being selective is important. Having a few meaningful and rewarding relationships is more important than a lot of superficial ones.
E - Expect the Best
Last but not least, parents should encourage their children to always expect the best. Be optimistic—even when the current situation is unpleasant and stressful. Parents should emphasize the importance of looking ahead to future possibilities and the good things that can may help to remind a child of past times when they have faced challenges and overcame them, ultimately for the better. Also, it’s important to remember that some of the most difficult things in life yield the most rewarding things. Although there is always more to a problem than just your mental attitude, thinking positively can certainly help with overcoming anxiety and stress. Parents can easily set an example by doing this themselves and also by letting their child know they believe in them.
In-text references
[1] Loades, M. E., Chatburn, E., Higson-Sweeney, N., Reynolds, S., Shafran, R., Brigden, A., Linney, C., McManus, M. N., Borwick, C., & Crawley, E. (2020). Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(11), 1218–1239.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009