With back-to-school season here, parents and children may be experiencing feelings of anticipation and anxiety about the new school year. Gene Beresin, MD, of MGH Psychiatry, offers the following suggestions for parents to help their children adjust.

• Know your child’s strengths and weaknesses and the challenges he or she may face: for example, bullying, “falling in with the wrong crowd,” or acting impulsively. Know the subjects in which he or she excels or may need extra help.

• Know what is expected at each developmental level. For example, kindergarten children or children going to school for the first time have different needs than those entering middle school, who may face new and more difficult choices.

• Know the possible stresses for college-aged students, including alcohol, sex, drugs, performance anxiety and psychiatric disorders.

• Be aware of your own vulnerabilities. Separation can be just as hard for parents as for kids. This is true for parents of children in grade school, high school and college.

“Children can prepare themselves for a new school year by knowing the issues and demands for their grade level, progressively becoming more autonomous and independent and knowing who to go to for help and advice,” says Beresin. “Most importantly, parents should know how to talk to their kids. Establishing open lines of communication is important not only in helping children adjust to a new school year, but also adjust to life’s changes in general.”