BATON ROUGE — As thousands of students in the capital region return to school this week, back-to-school anxiety may start kicking in.

Dr. Jessica Rabalais with Ochsner Behavioral Health joined WBRZ to share tips that may help students overcome the anxiety. 

Some common signs that children may be having back-to-school jitters include not wanting to get up in the morning, stomach aches, headaches and even refusing to go to school altogether.

Dr. Rabalais said that practicing a morning routine such as letting kids pick their outfits and school supplies can help them stay calm.

"Routine is super important, so for a lot of kids that would look like your nighttime routine kind of being the same and having a morning routine," Dr. Rabalais said. "So making sure that you're doing the same things over and over again so the kids kind of conceptualize like 'I got my breakfast now I have to go get my booksack, and now I have to get in the car.'"

She also shared that making sure things are the same and that kids know what to expect can help lower anxiety. 

Parents should also empathize with children who approach them with anxieties about school and offer them an opportunity to explain their feelings 

"Give them an opportunity to speak and validate their feelings," Dr. Rabalais said.