MACON, Ga. — Even though a lot of people are excited to go back to school, some students are still adjusting to going back inside the building.
Many students have been learning online, and this week a lot of them are heading back into the building for the first time in a long time.
Getting out of bed, eating breakfast, and going straight to the computer to complete school work was a normal day in the Castlin household for a little over a year.
"Learning virtually was kind of hard because you don't have that parent at home to actually go over the work with the students," said Jason Castlin.
Jason and Kylah's two children, Khalana and Jayden, started school in-person this week.
"I think it's a big move because now I can interact with my peers and people I talk to on the regular instead of being at home. It took [away] a lot of stress knowing that teachers can now teach us instead of teaching ourselves, or my mom stressing trying to teach us," said Khalana.
"We've had the experience of being forced to lock down virtually, so now that we're back face-to-face, we're really excited about it," said Kylah.
Although the Castlins are excited about return to the building, Khalana and Jayden had to get used to a few things again.
"It was waking up for me because I used to get more sleep," said Jayden.
"It's been an adjustment across the board, but they're getting into the swing of things," said Kylah.
But some children are having a hard time getting back to their old routine.
"During the pandemic there were a lot of kids who had a lot of anxiety about being in school. There's a lot of hype, so we pay attention to a lot of noise and there's a lot of uncertainty," said Bruce Conn.
Conn, who is a family and marriage therapist with Piedmont Macon Medical Center, says the uncertainty leads to hesitation. That could cause children to develop anxiety about going back to school.
"You have to engage -- anxiety is real. Don't minimize those feelings. Acting like they're not important doesn't help. We have to talk our way through them. Everyone knows what it feels like to talk about something and feel lighter, it's like, 'Woo, I'm glad I got that off my chest,'" said Conn.
He says children aren't the only ones struggling when it comes to adjusting -- parents are too.
He says that if you can't power through the anxiety you may feel; it's best to talk to someone to help find a solution.
Some other ways that you can try to tackle that back-to-school anxiety include: sticking to daily routines, listening to your child's worries, and coming up with a solution that works best for both of you.
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