08/17/2026
For many kids, the transition back to school can bring more than just excitement and butterflies. OCD and anxiety can ramp up significantly this time of year.
You may notice:
😟 Increased reassurance-seeking: “Are you sure I’ll be okay?”
🔄 More checking, avoidance, or rituals
🏫 Worries about school, friends, teachers, grades, or separation
🌙 Trouble sleeping or increased bedtime anxiety
🤍 More frequent requests for parents to help, check, or accommodate
As parents, our natural instinct is to make the anxiety go away. We reassure, answer the same question again, check things for our child, allow avoidance, or make accommodations to help them feel better.
And while this comes from a place of love, these responses can unintentionally strengthen the cycle of anxiety and OCD.
So what can parents do instead?
SPACE — Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions — is a parent-based treatment that teaches caregivers how to respond to childhood anxiety and OCD in ways that support their child without feeding the anxiety.
SPACE focuses on:
✨ Responding with empathy and validation
✨ Reducing family accommodation of anxiety and OCD
✨ Communicating confidence in your child’s ability to cope
✨ Supporting independence and brave behavior
✨ Changing the family interaction patterns that can maintain anxiety
You don’t have to stop supporting your child. You can support them differently.
At Colorado OCD & Anxiety Treatment, our clinicians are trained in SPACE and can provide parent support to help you navigate anxiety and OCD—especially during challenging transitions like the start of a new school year.
💬 If your child’s anxiety or OCD tends to increase around back-to-school time, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to figure it out by yourself.
📩 Contact us to learn more about SPACE and parent support.
ParentingAnxiety SPACE SupportiveParenting ERP OCDTreatment ColoradoOCD ColoradoAnxietyTreatment