Children and teens face high stress levels as the school year approaches, but experts say parents can help by starting simple conversations. According to the American Institute of Stress, 75% of high school students and 50% of middle schoolers consistently feel stressed. We're going from the summer schedule back to a new school schedule, and so it creates stress," Hoet said. She said that's why it's important for parents to have conversations with their children to identify those feelings and work through them. And so we have to have conversations," Hoet said.