The start of a new school year can bring a lot of challenges—new classmates, perhaps a new school building, new routines. If your child is anxious about the new school year, check out National PTA’s Healthy Minds resources for families, part of the Healthy Lifestyles program.

National PTA’s Healthy Minds resources for families provide tools to help foster age-appropriate discussions at home about mental health, including questions to ask on a variety of topics and tips for parents on getting the most out of these conversations. Many of the resources are also available in Spanish, and some are also available in Tagalog, Somali, and Mandarin. You’ll also find topic-specific family resources on:

  • Anxiety
  • Bullying
  • Depression
  • Grief and Loss
  • Loneliness and Isolation
  • Resiliency
  • Social Emotional Learning and Service Learning

National PTA’s Health Minds program doesn’t just focus on families. There are resources for PTAs to host events focused on mental health. The Health Minds toolkit for PTA leaders will walk you and your PTA through how to plan, promote, and host a Healthy Minds program at your school. You’ll find resources for doing a school-wide needs assessment, a discussion guide, flyers and sample social media posts, handouts, PowerPoint slide decks, and more.

Mental health challenges can appear at any time, but transitions can trigger issues, and the start of a new school year can be a major transition for many kids. Help them get a great start to the school year by sharing the Healthy Minds resources with your community and hosting an event at your school.