Back-to-school tensions run high for families amid rise in COVID cases: 'The last year and a half has been brutal for kids' - Yahoo Life

“Really having a hard time accepting that kids sacrificed 16+ months of their childhood, 2 school years of normalcy, mostly to protect adults from a virus that they’re now choosing NOT to get vaccinated against, making kids who can’t vax more vulnerable & holding everyone hostage,” high school English teacher Jessica Kirkland wrote in a tweet that’s now gone viral.

Really having a hard time accepting that kids sacrificed 16+ months of their childhood, 2 school years of normalcy, mostly to protect adults from a virus that they’re now choosing NOT to get vaccinated against, making kids who can’t vax more vulnerable & holding everyone hostage.

Anxieties are at a high pitch, but many experts say that it’s often the parents who are more stressed about school during a pandemic than the children.

For older children who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, this school year may feel more like it has in the past, Dr.

Robert Hamilton, a pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., and host of the podcast The Hamilton Review: Where Kids and Culture Collide, tells Yahoo Life.

Earlier this week, the AAP issued guidelines that recommend universal masking for children older than 2 in school, whether they are vaccinated or not.

Of course, the transition back to school won’t necessarily be easy — for younger children or their parents.

To try to prepare your child for a return to a school year that may be uncertain, Hamilton recommends sitting them down for a talk.

And, if your child is frustrated at the idea of wearing a mask in school again, Keder suggests letting them know that relief is on the way.

“It is important for parents to ask children what they are most excited about going back to school and what are they most nervous about,” Nicole Cobb, an associate professor of the practice of human and organizational development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, tells Yahoo Life.

Keder says that it’s important for parents to be “real and honest” with their kids about the status quo, but also “first check your own emotional response to make sure that you’re doing OK.”.

“It’s also a good idea to know your school district’s policies and what COVID-19 cases look like in your area,” he says.

Knowing all of this information can help lower anxiety levels, allowing you to feel prepared to go into the school year, Keder says?

“If kids need to switch quickly again to virtual learning, know how to best support them