Back-to-School Jitters Are Real And That’s Perfectly Normal

By Vinay Saranga MD – Psychiatrist

As summer winds down and those long, lazy days give way to school supply checklists and earlier bedtimes, many families are finding themselves caught in a swirl of emotions. There’s excitement but also anxiety, uncertainty and even a touch of sadness. The truth is that’s perfectly okay.

Whether it’s a kindergartener nervously clutching their backpack or a high schooler quietly dreading a new social scene, the start of a new school year is a major life event and it can stir up complicated feelings for everyone involved. Parents often try to put on a brave face, but they’re feeling it too. The bittersweet ache of watching your child grow up another year older is very real. For many, it’s a tug-of-war between pride and nostalgia, nerves and hope.

One of the most important aspects for everyone to understand about back-to-school season is that the mixed emotional landscape is not just common, it should be expected. Anxiety is a natural response to change. We shouldn’t try to suppress it, but rather understand and normalize it for our kids and ourselves.

No matter what you’re feeling as the first day of school approaches, whether it’s nervous, excited, overwhelmed, hopeful, or all of the above, your emotions are valid. There’s no “right” way to feel. While the anticipation can feel huge and heavy, it’s often worse than the actual experience. That’s called anticipatory anxiety, and it’s something many kids (and adults) go through. The good news? Once the day arrives and routines start to take shape, those anxious feelings tend to settle down quickly.

There’s this modern myth that the back-to-school transition should be seamless and full of smiling faces, color-coded calendars and perfect photo ops. But behind the scenes, there are often jitters, restlessness, sadness about summer coming to an end and the mental gymnastics of trying to manage all the unknowns. Will they find the right classroom? Will they make friends? Will I be okay without them?

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do as parents or caregivers is to simply acknowledge that change is hard and show up anyway. Emotions aren’t problems to solve; they’re signals. And when we listen to them without rushing to fix or minimize, we teach our kids (and ourselves) how to sit with discomfort and move forward with courage.

Let’s also remember that these transitional moments, as emotionally charged as they are, don’t last forever. That nervous first step onto the bus, that awkward hello in homeroom and that quiet walk into the new cafeteria are all temporary growing pains. In just a few days, many kids will find their rhythm, forge new friendships and begin to settle into a sense of routine. The unease that feels so loud right now will fade into the background as confidence takes its place.

So if your house feels like a swirl of nervous energy right now, take a deep breath. You’re not doing anything wrong. This is what transition looks like. It’s messy, emotional and often overwhelming, but it’s also filled with potential, growth and strength.

Let’s stop pretending back-to-school has to feel like a highlight reel and embrace it for what it really is: a milestone. That milestone is one that’s worth feeling every bit of, from the highs to the lows.

Vinay Saranga MD is an adult and child psychiatrist and founder of the North Carolina Institute of Advanced NeuroHealth. https://www.ncinstneurohealth.com/