School Stress - 5 Ways to Help Your Grandchildren Conquer It

Our grandchildren are headed back to school. This is both exciting and stressful for them.Every child and teen longs to experience acceptance and value at school, both in the classroom and in the campus culture. Their self-identity is forged during these critical years.Although we want and pray that their school days are positive and maturing, we also know the roadblocks to these hopes are mounting.You can expect your grandkids to encounter the everyday school stress of finding new friends and the challenges of learning. Still, they also face the reality of ongoing pandemic concerns, rapidly changing social norms, heightened levels of school violence, and intense bullying on campus.Many children are dealing with feelings of unidentified depression, inadequacy, and trauma, and most school counseling departments are understaffed and limited in their desire to treat these students.So how can you help?

5 Ways to Help a Grandchild With School Stress

• Pray: This one is obvious, right? To make this easy, check out The Back to School Prayer That Gets God’s Attention.

• Keep in touch: Although you may not be around your grandchildren daily, you can stay in touch via phone calls, texting, or Facetime. A simple morning text to start their day is always appreciated if it’s from Grandma!

• Be alert: During conversations with your grandchild, watch for comments or actions indicating a withdraw from people or avoidance of school. (For more specifics, check out this helpful article on Parents.com.)

• Be informed: Yes, keeping up to date on news that impacts our grandchildren is helpful, but it can also produce fear if all you are hearing about is bad news about school violence or social values and norms changing, or threats of war too close to home. So, balance all the yucky information with a heavy dose of God’s promises. Here are 5 selfish ways to pray God's promises for your grandkids.

• Stay involved: Whether near or far, you can be involved with your grandkids as they make their way through the school year. Here are two of my old blog posts with timeless tips you can apply now.

Grandparenting Your Grandchildren Back to School

10 Things to Do With Your Grandchildren This School Year

There’s a lot of practical advice, creative ideas, and basic coaching in the above links for conquering school stress. If you’re looking for one-on-one coaching relating to your grown children or grandchildren, let’s connect.