Why do Brazilian students suffer from childhood anxiety at school?

Hi, mom! How are you? How about we talk about a serious topic? Childhood anxiety at school. That's right! Children and adolescents also suffer from this problem, and the worst part is that Brazilian students are among the most anxious in the world — stress comes from all sides: from the students themselves, from teachers, from parents.The desire to get good grades, the need to please parents, and the difficulty of having good integration with peers come into play. In fact, these are just some of the reasons that lead more and more children to show signs of anxiety.After all, just as we, adults, suffer pressure due to daily responsibilities and work, children have to deal with a series of expectations in their school trajectory. However, the good news is that this problem can be minimized. Want to know how? Then, read on!

What does the study on childhood anxiety at school say?

The information that Brazilian students have shown worrying levels of anxiety comes from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of 2015. This is an exam carried out every three years by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which currently has 35 member countries.During the assessment, thousands of students from 72 nations answer a series of indicators, which seek to evaluate the educational level of the country, mainly in science, mathematics, and reading. In the last edition, there were 540,000 young participants — that is, we are dealing with respectable data here, right?The big news of PISA 2015 is that the organizers dedicated a part of the assessments to the well-being and mental health of students. And, unfortunately, Brazil is not doing well in this regard, you see? Take a look:

• 8 out of 10 Brazilian students report feeling very anxious before school tests;
• 56% say they are very tense because of their studies;
• 21% suffer from low school self-esteem because they believe teachers judge them to be less intelligent than they are;
• 17.5% of participating adolescents report having suffered some type of bullying.

These numbers were well above the international average. To give you an idea, while 80% of Brazilian students said they had a lot of anxiety before tests, the average for other countries was 55.5%.Our percentage in this regard was the second highest among all participating nations, second only to Costa Rica. It is striking that we have a higher number of anxious students even compared to traditionally very rigid places in education, such as Hong Kong, where the percentage was 67.1%.And there's more! The quality of our education is often criticized, and yet 56% of students said they feel very tense about the demands. On the other hand, Finland has one of the most praised educational systems in the world, and there, this percentage did not exceed 20%.

Why do Brazilians suffer from childhood anxiety at school?

Given these numbers, we can immediately say that the problem of childhood anxiety at school is in the classrooms, right? Not quite! The problem can be much deeper, you see? PISA does not raise hypotheses to explain the results obtained, as the objective of the report is only to compile the data, not to discuss them.However, some studies carried out here in Brazil provide clues about the causes of all this anxiety among children and adolescents, such as those listed below.

Negative self-concept

In 2016, the journal Psicologia Escolar e Educacional published an article on the relationship between self-concept and school anxiety. In it, the researchers show that young people tend to face stress in school life due to the difficulty of establishing their own conceptions about themselves.In the words of the specialists:

"children tend to incorporate the ideas that significant adults have about them, even if they are not consistent with what the child really is" (p. 423).

It seems difficult to understand, but it's very simple: children need to be surrounded by people prepared to deal with them, both at home and at school.After all, these are the two environments where children come into contact with "significant adults" for them — parents and teachers. What happens is that not all families have the necessary structure to provide personality formation and a healthy self-concept.At school, it's the same thing. Without the development of a more affective didactic or even positive reinforcement in teacher training, the construction of a negative self-concept in children ends up being favored.

School environment with problems

In another research published in the same journal in 2002, researchers had already pointed out another problem that can lead to anxiety in school life: the characteristics of the school itself. According to the results of the study, which involved children of different age groups, genders, and grades, some of the factors that increase student stress are:

• too many activities in the school schedule;
• impatient teachers;
• lack of dialogue and closeness between students and teachers;
• excessive tasks;
• competition among classmates;
• disorganization in subjects.

These anxiety motivators would be aggravated, according to this research, by family situations, such as the birth of siblings, moving house, and illnesses. Oh, the study also showed that school stress levels tended to decrease as the child progressed through grades.The authors discussed this result and concluded that children feel less anxious as they integrate into school. In other words, adaptation at the beginning of school life is also a major cause of anxiety.

Other causes

In addition to these two reasons, children may feel anxious due to:

• excessive demands from the family for good school performance;
• unfair evaluation methodologies;
• bullying episodes;
• lack of good socialization with peers, etc.

How is childhood anxiety at school identified?

Childhood anxiety may not be so easy to identify, especially if you have a challenging child at home. After all, children still don't quite understand what they feel and have difficulty expressing it to parents or teachers.However, a lot of insecurity, aggressive behavior, falling grades, and refusal to go to school are warning signs. The child may also become excessively studious, which demonstrates greater self-demand regarding their own school performance. Also, anxiety appears with some symptoms, such as:

• racing heart;
• sweating and/or trembling hands;
• stomach ache and/or headache;
• urinary incontinence;
• hyperactivity;
• nausea;
• crying spells;
• sleep problems;
• muscle tension, etc.

What are the risks of childhood anxiety at school?

In addition to compromising the child's quality of life and well-being, childhood anxiety at school presents other risks, such as the development of disorders. This is what happens when the natural symptoms of anxiety become too frequent or intense. Examples are:

• social phobias;
• generalized anxiety disorder (GAD);
• panic disorder, among others.

Other consequences are having coexistence with peers affected, taking into account the importance of socialization for child development. Not to mention, of course, drops in school performance or learning difficulties, which can lead to a snowball of tensions and demands and make the child even more anxious.

What is the role of schools and parents in childhood anxiety?

As we have seen, the causes of childhood anxiety at school are more complex than they seem at first glance. Both the school and family environments play decisive roles in the child's emotional well-being and, therefore, are also responsible for improving the stress picture.In schools, for example, some welcome practices are:

• well-dosed tests and alternative assessments, to minimize pressure in the face of regular exams;
• collaborative school environment and humanized management;
• combating bullying among students;
• prepared teachers in the classroom;
• multidisciplinary teams, including psychologists.

For parents, these characteristics should weigh in the choice of the child's school, as they are essential for the child's daily life to be healthier. In addition, it is important to strengthen ties with teachers to have frequent communication and actively monitor children's school life, showing that they are a source of support.

How to prevent or deal with childhood anxiety at school?

There is no magic formula to end childhood anxiety at school, not least because this problem also involves a review of Brazilian teaching models, but it is possible to improve this scenario with some actions within your home, yes! Below, see some tips.

Do not belittle the child's feelings

Is your first reaction when your child says they are tense to say something like: "it's nothing serious!"? Well, we think that minimizing children's fears helps, but this is not always a good option, as the child may feel even more insecure about their own feelings.The ideal is to validate these complaints, showing that you understand and respect the child's anxiety and encouraging them to express these feelings.

Cherish a healthy family environment

Have you heard that where stressed parents live, there are also stressed children? Yes, children are very sensitive to the environment, especially when we talk about the feelings of people so important to them. Therefore, it is worth moderating your own anxiety, avoiding conflicts, and ensuring a calm and healthy environment for the little ones.

Have a well-established routine

By definition, anxiety is an anticipated emotional response to future situations. When they are unpredictable, then, it is even easier to feel tense. Therefore, having a well-established routine is essential to also minimize childhood anxiety at school.Have fixed times for major daily activities, such as meals, bedtime, and waking up. Also try to inform the child about events before they happen, whether it's a trip to the park or a change of class at school.

Create balanced schedules

One of the causes of childhood anxiety at school that we explained here is precisely the excess of tasks and activities. When this also occurs at home, stress is doubled. Therefore, try to create a balanced schedule for the child.For example, on days when the child's study routine is very demanding, avoid overloading them even more with other events. Always reserve enough time for rest and play.

Create a "safe place"

Now, to deal directly with children's anxiety about school, how about using relaxation techniques, such as counting to 10 or creating a "safe place"? It's simple: ask the child to think of a place that makes them feel calm. Guide them to visualize this refuge until they calm down when they feel anxious at school.

Overcome the causes of anxiety gradually

It is also worth seeking ways to overcome the causes of anxiety. For example, if what makes the child most tense is a presentation to the class, ask them to rehearse what they need to say first only to you, then to grandparents and closest friends.Thus, the tension of public speaking is gradually overcome. Oh, don't forget to congratulate the child at each step taken in this overcoming, showing how well they did.

Encourage physical activity

Physical activities are excellent allies for emotional control. In sports, children learn to respect rules, deal with competition, overcome their own limits, etc. All of this can represent valuable lessons that will help reduce stress in daily school life.

Resort to child psychotherapies

Finally, if the child or adolescent shows very critical symptoms of anxiety, do not hesitate to talk to the pediatrician and seek guidance on psychotherapies. Mental and emotional health is a serious matter and deserves due professional attention.We have reached the end of this "dossier" on childhood anxiety at school. Although there is still no conclusive research on the causes of this stress among Brazilian students, it is clear that the matter is serious and that we need to keep an eye on the well-being of our little ones, right?So, share the content on your social media. That way, more moms will also be aware of the tips we brought!