Reduce Back to School Meltdowns

Kids have been back at school in my area for about a week now. I’ve been talking to some of my other mom friends and we’ve all commented on the same thing: our kids have been having meltdowns more than usual.

Even my homeschooled kids have been having more meltdowns since we started back at school.

What are “Back to School Meltdowns?”

When kids start back at school in the fall, there tends to be some fallout at home. Kids can be more emotional than usual; getting angry or sad more easily, or less likely to listen to parents.

With my kids, I’ve noticed they are more likely to get upset at things. For example, my daughter was doing fine with her writing at the end of last school year, but now she’s occasionally crying because she finds it challenging after the time away.

What Causes “Back to School Meltdowns?”

It can be a big adjustment going back to school in the fall. Kids have been enjoying freedom to do what they want when they want, and now they are expected to sit and follow the rules. Classrooms can be noisy and have lots of stimulation. This can take time to adjust to.

For my homeschooled kids, I think the adjustment is that they had complete freedom for a few months, and now I’m asking them to do challenging work again.

What can we do about “Back to School Meltdowns?”

I think there are a few things we as parents can do to help our kids adjust to the new school year;

• We can give them space to adjust. This doesn’t mean giving them a free pass on their behavior, but it does mean giving them some grace and space to adjust to the changes. An example of this can be to have fewer expectations on kids for a few weeks.
• We can listen; ask our kids how their day went and if they have anything they want to talk about. Don’t badger them if they don’t want to talk, though.
• Make sure they get enough sleep. It can be tough to adjust from late bedtimes and sleeping in to waking to an alarm each morning, we can help by helping them get to bed in time so they aren’t so groggy when they wake up.

Do you have any other suggestions or tips that have helped your kids adjust to heading back to school? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!