Tonight with your 5 to 8 year old

The prompt

“What does feeling nervous before school look like for you, like what does your body do?”

What to listen for

If they describe physical signs, like a tummy ache or fidgety hands, that awareness of their own body is a big step toward managing nerves instead of being overwhelmed by them.

If they mention a specific reason for the nerves, like a test or a friend situation, that's valuable information worth following up on gently, not fixing immediately.

If they say they don't get nervous, that's fine, ask what nervous looks like for a friend instead, sometimes it's easier to talk about it once removed.

What this tells you

How clearly they can describe their nerves shows how well they're learning to recognize and eventually manage worry on their own.