How to Combat the Post-School Meltdown

How many times have you picked your little one up from school, watched them wave goodbye to their teachers and friends with happy, smiling faces, only to turn to you with furrowed brows, crossed arms and a sullen temper?

If this is you, you’re not alone.

Children spend so much time at school, listening to their teachers and following the rules that as soon as they leave the doors or the playground gates, all they want is to let loose.

Put yourself in your child’s shoes and think back to your own school days. The bell rings and you’re free. You’re excited but also exhausted and hungry. You want to go out and play, you want to eat, and you also want to relax and watch tv; but you can’t do it all at once.

This indecision and desire to do everything at once can leave your children sullen and moody, often with a very short, unpredictable temper.

So, it’s understandable that when you’re asking your child how their day has been and what they’ve been doing that you’re met with resistance and vague answers.

To help calm your child and to make the post-school pick-up easier for both of you, try these top tips:

  • Plenty of hugs – children love affection. They’ve missed you whilst at school and giving them a big warm hug can help to erase any worries or upset that they’ve experienced during the day.
  • Bring snacks – children struggle to think or operate when hungry. Bring along a healthy snack to help ease at least one of your child’s needs.
  • Ask more focused questions – Instead of asking, ‘how was your day?’ or ‘what did you do today?’ which is a lot to ask a very young child, try asking instead, ‘what was the best part of your day?’, ‘what was the worst part of your day?’ or ‘who did you play with today?’ – Giving your child more focused questions, will allow your child to give a more succinct answer without being overwhelmed whilst trying to list everything they’ve done that day. You’ll often find that by doing this your child will remember sporadic things and launch into conversations about what they’ve learned throughout the rest of the day.

How do you combat the post-school meltdown? Share your tips with other parents and nannies in the comments below.

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