Back to School Nerves: Naturopathic Support for the Whole Family

By Dr. Kirsten Almon, ND, CHt

The first weeks of school are harder than the first day.

New shoes, a new classroom and a new teacher carry most kids through the first few mornings on novelty alone. Then week two arrives, the newness wears off, and the nervous system sends the bill. That is when we see the nightmares, the 5am wake ups, the tummy aches that appear at 8:15 and vanish by 4pm, and the Sunday evening dread.

When our family moved a few years ago, my own kids were unravelling by late August. Nightmares every single night. Big worries came out at bedtime. There were so many unknowns.

Transitions are hard on parents and teachers, too. Everyone in the house is adjusting at once, which is why the support has to be for the whole family and not just the child.

THREE WAYS TO SETTLE THE WHOLE FAMILY

1. Reset the evening, not just the bedtime

An earlier bedtime helps, but the hour before it matters more. Screens go off before the wind down instead of during it. Mornings get easier when the wake up is predictable and unhurried.

If the evenings have already drifted, this is fixable in three or four days. Pull bedtime back in fifteen minute steps rather than in one big jump, and pair the reset with something the kids actually want to do. An early evening jammie jog or a board game gives the new routine a reason to exist instead of feeling like a punishment.

The movement part is doing more than burning off energy. Dr. Jennifer Heisz, the McMaster neuroscientist who studies how exercise changes the brain, walked through the mechanism on our podcast in Episode 16, Exercise and Mental Health: How Movement Heals Your Brain. It is worth a listen if you want to understand why a short walk or a jog around the block settles a wound up nervous system faster than talking about the worry does.

2. Read the books, out loud, every night

Stories give children language for feelings they cannot name yet. Three of my favourites are The Kissing Hand, First Day Jitters and How to Train Your Teacher. Reading them nightly is reassuring for kids, and honestly for the adults doing the reading.

This works during the transition, not only before it. A child who is still crying at drop off in week three is still in the thick of it, and these books are still the right tool.

3. Go back to the schoolyard

Familiarity calms an activated nervous system. If your child is new to school, or new to this school, spend time in the yard when it is empty. Play on the equipment. Walk the route. Find the door they line up at.

For kids already in class, the same principle applies on weekends and after the bell. Fifteen minutes of unstructured play in that yard, with no bell and no expectations, tells the body that this place is safe.

WHEN TO REACH OUT FOR MORE SUPPORT

Some settling is expected. Persistent sleep disruption, appetite changes, ongoing stomach complaints, recurring illness or anxiety that is not easing by week four is worth a closer look. Naturopathic care can support sleep, digestion, immune resilience and stress regulation in kids, and I can work with the whole family rather than the symptom in isolation.

BOOK WITH DR. ALMON

Dr. Kirsten Almon is a Naturopathic Doctor and Certified Hypnotherapist at Blueberry Therapy in Dundas. She sees children, teens and adults. Her tools include nutrition, herbs and homeopathy, drainage, acupuncture and acupressure, and lifestyle counselling. She has been in practice for 24 years.

Read her full bio: https://www.blueberrytherapy.ca/kirsten-almon

Book an initial visit: https://blueberrytherapy.janeapp.com/#/naturopathic-medicine

Returning patients can book a follow up at the same link.

Call 289.238.8383 or email hello@blueberrytherapy.ca

MORE ON THE PODCAST:

The Hole Shebang, Episode 97: Pediatric Pelvic Health, Kids Don't Grow Out of It, with Keri Martin Vrbanac. Bedwetting, daytime leaks and bowel concerns in children, and why families often start noticing them once school is back in. [INSERT EPISODE 97 LINK]