Today's Article

"For a lot of kids, it can feel immensely stressful."

Licensed therapist Jodi Baumstein with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta says 2academic anxiety can have some 3surprising signs in students.

They may start to 4procrastinate in the morning, try to miss the bus, they may skip class, 5talk back to teachers, or they may not be able to complete assignments.

Baumstein says these signs may seem like behavioral issues, but that's not always the case.

"We really want to get curious about what they're communicating and make sure we're getting to the root — because for some kids, it's actually anxiety."

That starts with 6opening up a dialogue with your child. Baumstein says to ask 7open-ended questions and listen to understand, not just to respond.

Then, 8validate and 9normalize what they're going through, and focus on the effort they've put into schoolwork all year— not just the 10outcome.

"If they're worried that they might not get that perfect grade, they're going to be feeling really 11intense pressure."

And if a child seems to really be struggling, Baumstein says, reach out for help.

"They're not able to go to school, they can't sleep, they're no longer 12engaging in activities they used to enjoy, they're withdrawing from their friends, they're not talking, they're tearful. These are signs you really want to pay attention to. And we don't want to wait until it's 13bubbled upto a 14point of crisis."