Back to school is a time of great excitement, but also a bit of fear and uncertainty for many students, especially those transitioning to higher grades.

Psychologist Dr. Janine Hubbard says it’s important to keep the lines of communication open with your child and to give them an opportunity to problem-solve their way through a variety of new experiences.

“This includes right up to post-secondary,” says Hubbard, “what do you do if somebody hands you a joint, or whatever the fear that that individual might have.” She says give the student an opportunity to start generating problem-solving mechanisms for a host of scenarios, and then, when the unexpected happens, they know they have the ability to try to figure it out.