Back to School time can be stressful for families

INDIANOLA – Students will head back to school at the end of the month but for a lot of parents getting their children ready for the start of a new year is stressful and, increasingly so, expensive. 

Rachel Klein, executive director of The Helping Hand of Warren County, a community-led nonprofit focused on supplying the at-need residents of Warren County with food and clothing, said when it comes to back to school products they focus on distributing the more expensive items, allowing families to stretch their dollar further.

“We try to focus on backpacks and the Trapper Keepers that the middle school kids use just because those are the things that are $15-20, and where a pack of crayons is maybe not that,” Klein said during the August monthly Thrive Iowa alliance meeting in Indianola. 

Klein was part of a three-person panel of experts who spoke on the theme of back to school. The discussions covered the stresses of families getting their children prepared for back to school and strategies for making the year go a bit smoother.

Andrea Carlson, Family Support Supervisor at the ASK Resource Center, told a group of twenty-five in attendance that addressing the transition needs of your child early can make a noticeable difference for the duration of the school year.

“School can be stressful, and sometimes just identifying if there are issues going into the school year can really help make the school year a lot smoother for them,” Carlson said.

Carlson, a mother of five, spoke about being mindful of sensory issues your children may have, advising parents to consider the clothing and auditory sensitivities of their children as they begin their back to school shopping.

Sarah Downard, coordinator of Thrive Iowa of Warren County, led the panel discussion and asked poignant questions regarding the burdens and hurdles faced by parents as they prepare to send their kids back to school. Despite the countless back to school specials advertised this time of year, shopping for growing children is not cheap. 

Help and resources for families who are struggling financially is available and out there. For some families it’s knowing where and how to look for them that can be a suffocating and exhaustive endeavor. 

“I think people are scared and embarrassed and terrified and if they’ve never sought services before it’s hard to know where to start,” Klein said.

Carlson stressed the importance of reassuring these families that resources are there that can assist them in every area they need help in. 

“They just need to figure out where to find them, and that’s the problem,” Carlson said. 

She praised the work being done by Thrive Iowa, which uses the Restore Hope model and software to help families get the targeted help they need without a cumbersome journey through state government programs. 

The Thrive Iowa initiative targets thirteen areas of need.

“That’s why I think that this whole idea (of Thrive Iowa) is wonderful because it’s one hub that can really help families plug into every facet within their life that they’re needing instead of having to navigate everywhere,” Carlson said.

Several Thrive Iowa sites in Iowa are currently taking referrals. For more information about Thrive Iowa, visit https://hhs.iowa.gov/family-community/thrive-iowa

“Everyone goes through hard times, and this is why we’re here,” Klein said.