This time of year can be tough for kids and families for many reasons. Resuming school after the winter break often doesn’t feel nearly as exciting and energizing as the beginning of the school year does. The break is shorter, the days are darker, and workloads pile back up quickly upon the January return to school. 

Depending on where you live, short days, minimal sunlight, and cold temperatures may be starting to grate on your child’s mood (and your own). School work can also become more stressful, as mid-year projects are unfolding and academic expectations are ramping up. And, if your family is engaged in applying to schools, this can be a particularly stressful period of waiting and decision making. 

Altogether, it’s not uncommon for both kids and adults to be low on energy, motivation, and patience in January and February.

Given the natural downshift in mood that can happen at this time of year, it’s especially important to support your child in managing their physical and emotional regulation during the winter months—and to take care of your own mental and physical needs as well! Below, find tips for managing stress and getting through the mid-winter slump with your family.

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Tips for Young Children

Young children are usually most able to self-regulate during the day when their routines are consistent and they are well rested. Physical activity is also extremely important for young children, not only for their motor development, but also for their ability to manage their emotions and behaviors. Winter can disrupt all of these aspects of day-to-day life for children.

• If your child’s bedtime was derailed by the winter break from school and is still not back on track, try to reset their routines by nudging bedtime 15 minutes earlier each night over the course of a week. This can be a low-stress way to restore healthy rhythms.
• Make sure your child is still getting plenty of physical activity, whether by bundling up and hitting the playground or finding indoor playspaces where they can run and let loose. Remember, structured classes often don’t provide the same release as open-ended gross motor play. Sometimes kids just need to run around!
• Provide extra time for sensory play, like playdough, bubble blowing, fingerpaint, indoor water play, or pillow forts. Sensory play helps children regulate their nervous systems and reduce stress. 
• Embrace the slower days with projects like family puzzles or large Lego builds that can be worked on together over time, without the pressure of completing in a single sitting.
• Do your best to manage your own stress and mood, whether you are finding yourself affected by the season or by the tension of the school notification period. Young children are highly attuned to your emotional energy and will respond to your highs and lows.

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Tips for Older Children

Tweens and teens tend to gravitate naturally toward night owl sleep patterns, which can be exacerbated by school work and social demands, as well as seasonal changes in light. This can make waking up on dark mornings especially hard for them (though they still need 8-10 hours of sleep). Stress can also be significantly dysregulating for kids who are already managing adolescent emotional swings and stress.

• Try to limit technology before bed and model this yourself as a household.
• Encourage tweens and teens to avoid caffeine late in the day.
• Replace lights with full spectrum lamps or lightbulbs to increase exposure to the natural range of daylight, which helps regulate sleep and boost emotional wellbeing.
• Support your child’s workload management and executive function skills by encouraging them to organize their work and study time, not just their activities and deadlines, on their calendar, estimating how long tasks will take and setting aside time in advance.
• Avoid checking in with your child about every little thing. This can be both frustrating and unhelpful for tweens and teens, who are eager for independence, causing added friction between kids and parents. Instead, be quietly present and available when possible, so they know they can seek out support as needed, in their own time.
• If your child is waiting for news about school acceptances or weighing big school decisions, review last month’s newsletter on navigating the home stretch of the application process. This advice remains relevant until the process is fully closed!

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