Your family’s favorite summer movie may have more psychological benefits than you know…

Inside Out 2 is not only a fun and sensitive family-friendly animated film, but it holds a strongly researched and formulated storyline that can kickstart important conversations in your family.

The movie connects to the emotion – anxiety – and is a coming of age film that features Riley (the main character) entering puberty and experiencing new and complex emotions as a result.

This focus on anxiety makes Inside Out 2 your secret weapon when it comes to talking to your tween/teen about the anxieties that can come up at the beginning of a school year.

We highly recommend watching the film together as a family and spending some time discussing it afterwards, because whether your tween/teen is starting at a new school this fall or going back to their same routine after a summer off, it’s common for anxious feelings to arise when that first day of school approaches.

You may not be able to subside all anxiety around the start of school, but here are some of our favorite things you can do to help your kids feel confident starting a new school year:

1) Control Your Own Stress

Our kids can sense our nerves or stress and if you are getting anxious about the start of the new fall routine, it will negatively impact them too. We know that balancing your household work, career, drop-off schedules, childcare for the littles, etc. can be very overwhelming – so check in with yourself and your partner to prepare as best as possible. If we face what is causing the stress head on, we can typically find a solution that eases the worry.

2) Allow For “Practice Sessions”

If your tween/teen is starting at a new school or beginning a new routine, like taking the bus or driving themselves to school for the first time, practice the route a few times. This can include waking up at the right time, prepping lunch and walking to the bus stop or driving the car to school. This can increase confidence for them AND you!

As a bonus – create a plan for emergency situations… such as a flat tire, or missing the bus pick-up time.

3) Initiate Open-Ended Conversations

During the weeks leading up to the start of school, ask open-ended questions to spark conversation with your tween/teen. If they answer with fears or express anxiety, please do NOT dismiss it with responses like there’s nothing to worry about – instead, validate their concerns and work together to come up with a solution or plan on how to handle it if those fears occur.

Some open-ended questions we recommend are:

• School is starting in X days – what are you most excited about? What are you most concerned about?
• How are you feeling about your new school?
• Let’s practice walking to the bus stop / driving to school. What questions or concerns do you have about the route?
• What’s one thing I can do to help you feel supported as you start this school year?

If you need any further encouragement to watch Inside Out 2 with your kids and validate their anxious feelings, know that Dr. Dacher Keltner – who is one of the world’s foremost emotion scientists – is a Stanford grad, Berkeley professor, and co-director of the Greater Good Science Centre, worked the sweet side gig as part of the Inside Out consulting team… so you can be confident that the lessons alluded to throughout are deeply ingrained in science!

And if you’re looking for further support in creating effortless conversations with your teen, check out our FREE 3-in-1 PDF Bundle that includes the most popular guides with parent-approved strategies to have meaningful talks with your teen.