There are warning signs to watch for.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As districts in Kentucky and Indiana prepare for a new school year, bullying and mental health are big issues for parents and their students. 

Dr. Katy Hopkins with Norton Children's Hospital stopped by WDRB Mornings Friday to let parents know there are warning signs to watch for when children are being bullied. 

"You always want to look for a prolonged change in your child. So if you see a change not only in their mood that lasts for a week or more, even two weeks, where you see just chronic irritability, chronic sadness, just a change in their personality that is unlike them."

Hopkins said parents should watch for change in daily routines. "Do you see big differences in their sleep, or their eating patterns?"

While it's not unusual for teens to change friends, "but if you see a stark difference overnight in who their hanging out with, you don't know who they are, and you haven't had a chance to meet them ... you want to get curious about what's going on in that change as well."

The key is to look for prolonged changes. 

Anxiety is one of the biggest issues children face. "The pressures one kids are phenomenally high, much more than when I was in high school," Hopkins said. 

The pressure can come from both inside and outside the classroom with extracurricular activities. 

Hopkins said "it's not unusual for a kid to describe themselves as anxious when really what they're talking about is typical stress in the face of lots of things in their life." 

While social anxiety can be stressful, it can also be beneficial in some ways.

"Now they're coming in and they're really concerned about what their friends think," Hopkins said.  That's actually really healthy for us to be concerned as a teenager about what others think. That's what helps build us into healthy adults.

"We need to care about what other people think about us, it helps guide, hopefully, good behavior. But sometimes if it's all you're thinking about that can cause a lot of distress and that's what I see in my office." 

It can sometimes be hard to start a conversation with your children to ask how they're doing. That's why Hopkins said to take advantage of opportunities when you're one-on-one, such as when running an errand in the car.

"Car conversations can be great for teenagers whether it be on the way to school or on the way home, mentioning that you've noticed a change in them," Hopkins said. "Just asking how they've been doing, asking about how their friends are. Sometimes you can ask 'tell me what's going on with this friend,' and with that you can get a conversation about how they're doing."

Once a parent and child agree that it might be beneficial to seek extra support outside the family, Hopkins suggests starting with your pediatrician's office. 

"Pediatricians often are well connected or have lists of therapists that they can refer their patients to," Hopkins said. 

Hopkins also recommends using websites like Psychology Today, where you can look up therapists by zip code, insurance, age group, etc. 

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