KELOWNA – It’s that time of year when students and parents are trying to find a balance between preparing for school and enjoying the last few days of summer.
“We’ve got clothes and are getting school supplies,” says Carly Warren who was shopping for her seven year old son in Kelowna on Monday. “The first couple weeks of summer he was happy to be home but I think he’s getting ready to go back now.”
It’s an exciting time for some, but it can also be stressful for students of all ages.
“He’s very nervous; he’s hoping all his friends are in his class again,” says Warren.
“It was a very stressful time because you know, I don’t do very well with teachers simply because I don’t feel that they understand my learning,” says 17-year-old Jai-Lynn Zimmerman who will be starting grade 12 in September.
Kelowna psychologist Dr. Heather McEachern says on average, three in every 10 students in Kelowna struggle with some kind of school-related issue.
“It’s a full spectrum but mostly we are trying to help with learning assistance, advice and direction, emotional regulation and with behavioural management practises that keep everyone calm,” says Dr. McEachern.
McEachern says she sees many cases where younger children are kept too busy, meanwhile teenagers aren’t kept busy enough.
“I’m faced with telling parents of younger children to back off the activities so they have downtime and I’m telling parents of 15-year-old’s to insist that their children stay in one or two activities,” says McEachern.
However, something else that can affect students of all ages is social media.
“Social media plays a huge part in it especially because if you are getting bullied at school then you just go home and it’s right there and it really sucks but it’s something I’ve learned to deal with really well,” says 16-year-old Shannon Rachel who will be entering grade 12 in September.
McEachern says it’s this time of year, just before they go back to school, that students and parents need to prepare for a successful year.
“Organization is a skill that develops over time; deciding what is most salient to study, deciding how to best partition their time and breaking it down so they have meaningful breaks where they can enjoy themselves,” says McEachern.
The Kelowna Psychologists Group will be holding a “Positive Parenting for Back to School” seminar on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. at their Kelowna office on Dickson Avenue.
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