The fears that keep us up at night

We are still in the throws of back to school time here. As my son gets used to his new routine and slowly starts to face the return of his biggest fear (homework), I am starting to switch into my new routines as well: I can finally let go of my summertime fears that he will be bit by a snake or slip while running around the pool and replace them with the fears that he will get picked on at school or injure himself on the playground equipment.

Yes, I know that my fears are mostly unfounded, but I do find myself thinking of these things, especially at night. It turns out, I am not alone: Many parents harbor back-to-school fears, and bullying is at the top of that list.

I was trying to think back to what my back-to-school fears were when I was little, but I am not sure they are applicable to my son today: I was scared of the nuns. And getting bad grades. (But mostly the nuns.)

I think that as long as I am a parent, there will always be some sort of fear that I have for my son. It is important, however, that I not pass those fears onto him. There is no reason why he should be up at night thinking of mean nuns wielding snakes chasing him around unsafe playground equipment. Or...whatever.

But this is a good reminder for me to have a talk with my son to determine what is on his mind now that the school year has started. Who knows - he may have his own fears for me to discuss with him or he may not have any worries at all.

What is the biggest back-to-school fear your family is tackling? Share it in the comments.