Preparing for Back to School with Ariana Hoet, PhD

The start of the new school year is rapidly approaching. Fears of new classrooms and classmates are building, while we adults are trying to navigate these rocky conversations with our children. 

The Dadass Podcast recently had on Ariana Hoet, PhD, clinical director for On Our Sleeves at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, who provided a lot of meaningful ways we as parents can begin making a difference now. Hoet works in Pediatric Primary Care where she serves primarily Latino and Somali immigrant children. She is also a clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University.

She recommends starting these conversations 2-3 weeks before school. Whether your kids are going into preschool or high school, begin asking open ended questions to truly see how your kids are feeling. These questions open it up for true feelings and thoughtfulness in responses.

One of the most downloaded resources on the On Our Sleeves website is their conversation starter. We’ve linked two resources for overall conversation starters and for back-to-school conversations to help lead conversations at home.

To hear the full conversation with Dr. Hoet  and all her tips related to going back to school, building empathy within your kids and more click here.