School Holidays...Blissful or Stressful?

Did you know that during a school holiday it’s really normal if…

• Your child complains that they are bored?

• Your child finds it hard to make decisions?

• Your child is either overtired or not tired at all?

• Your child is keen for your attention but shows this in less than desirable ways?

If you feel like your child is ‘playing up’ this half term, then this is why:

School can be a lot for some children. Lots of listening, lots of concentration, lots of trying to impress their teacher. During a typical school day, their time is structured, there is very little choice and they’re told what to do and when. Due to the nature of the curriculum there’s not much room for downtime, let alone boredom. On a day to day basis this can be a lot, let alone the culmination of that at the end of a long term. For most of our children, they’ll have spent most of the last 7 weeks keeping in all of their typical childlike behaviour and now suddenly, they’ve got a bit of freedom. Meaning those behaviours I’ve mentioned above…suddenly make more sense.

I’ll give you a visual…

Imagine you’ve got a bottle of coke and you give it a really good shake. What happens when you take the lid off? Finishing school after a long term of adhering to rules and expectations can look a lot like that fizzy, messy explosion. The comfort of home and some down time is like a release valve for the stress and self-control they’ve maintained during school.

So if your child’s behaviour is a little fizzy this half term, you’re not doing it wrong, it’s because you’re their safe place to let it out.

But whilst challenging behaviour or emotional outbursts are a normal reaction to the transition from school to home, it can be hard to handle as parents. So what do we do when our children need our support and understanding but we ourselves are mere humans who don’t want to be whinged or shouted at the entire time? Here’s 4 tips:

1. Don’t plan too much. It really is okay not to have fancy days out or cancel plans when you need to. Planning downtime is important.

2. Prioritise 1:1, open ended play. Building with logo, drawing, painting or getting outside. Half terms are a great time to reconnect with our children. I've shared a few ideas below that you might like to try.

3. Try to see their point of view - the more we can understand why our children are behaving in a particular way, the easier it is to deal with objectively.

4. Teach them a technique to help them wind down. We use relaxation audios for teaching this skill whilst also increasing mindfulness and improving emotional regulation. You can try one for free one here.