Back to school blues—helping students adjust after winter break.

After a winter break full of sleeping in and binge-watching shows, going back to early mornings and full school days can be a rude awakening for students.

So you and your students are back to school after a long winter break. You may have become accustomed to staying up late, binge-watching the last season of a romance reality show or zombie apocalypse, and waking up 2-3 hours later than you usually would. Do you really want to resume your sometimes painful routine of waking up in the wee hours of the morning?

How long does it take you to adjust from vacation mode to work mode? How long does it take a child to resume that routine? Are your students feeling the same as you about returning to school? Will they willingly participate in all of the activities you’ve planned for them?

You have the skills to escape or avoid these types of situations (maybe you suddenly feel the onset of a cold and call out one more day).

Your students may not have the skills to escape or avoid such situations. Besides, mom and dad will most likely provide no options for returning to school. The combination of disrupted routines for one to two weeks, plus the lack of sleep and the limited communication skills that children have, may have a detrimental effect on your student’s behavior.

The next few posts will focus on strategies for escape or avoidance behaviors in the school setting.