As adults, the pandemic has been rough on all of us, so how can you help your kids as they get set for a school year like none other?

Dr. Matthew McConn is the Chair of the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership at Binghamton University.

He says adults should strike a balance.

Be honest but mindful about going into too much detail.

Dr. McConn said "You want to be as honest as possible but you don't want to get too much into the details. What we want to remember is that the uncertainty of everything is certainly causing anxiety, and for these kids that are dealing with that anxiety the best way to manage that is to be honest and truthful with them but not to get too much into the weeds."

If your child asks why they are social distancing or wearing a mask, tell them the truth, that there is a virus and these things keep you safe.

Another way to lower the anxiety and reducing uncertainty in students?

Maintaining a routine and set up a workspace dedicated to schoolwork, despite whatever kind of learning structure they will be doing.

Dr. McConn added "It's a lot like any other year. Moving from the summer to the school year, parents are having to get kids at different times to sleep. So that structure, trying to get them set up with that again is going to be more important than ever moving into this new school year that's going to be different."

Despite being prepared, their still will be difficulties heading into this school year, specifically with kids with disabilities or lack of access to internet.

Dr. McConn concluded "One piece of advice I'd give parents that have students with disabilities is to reach out to the schools and try to prioritize a lot of those services around the face to face, and students in areas where the internet service is not good. These are the areas that I think we need to pay attention to moving into this new school years. We already saw the opportunity gap widen in the spring, and my guess is that even though the administration around here is doing the best that they can to insure that those gaps don't get any worse... I think it's going to be inevitable..."