The days and weeks before heading back to school may be filled with shopping trips, clothing lists, and preparing materials for the classes ahead, as children return to the classrooms this fall.

However, restarting school each fall can also provoke a sense of anxiety, experienced by children and parents alike.

“Anxiety before school starts can happen at any age. I even have colleagues, friends of mine, who are teachers, and they even express that they experience anxiety right before the school year begins, too,” said Elizabeth Harris, Ph.D., a specialist in child and adolescent psychology at University Hospitals.

She noted that she imagines this experience of back-to-school anxiety is “lifelong.” However, she said anxiety tends to be higher, especially if a child or a teenager is transi

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