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Back to school strains children's nervous systems; how parents can help
🇷🇸 Serbia /Culture & Society

Back to school strains children's nervous systems; how parents can help

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • The start of the school year can overwhelm children's nervous systems, leading to tantrums and behavioral issues, according to therapist and neuroscientist Robin Gobel.
  • Gobel explains that children's brains process vast amounts of data, and new school environments require significant mental effort, making them prone to 'breaking points'.
  • She advises parents to first calm the situation and acknowledge their child's feelings before attempting to address the behavior, as children in distress cannot process lectures.

The transition back to school can be a jarring experience for children, often manifesting as sudden outbursts, defiance, and tears, according to therapist and neuroscientist Robin Gobel. This behavior, she explains, is rarely simple defiance but rather a sign of an overloaded nervous system struggling to cope with the new demands of the school environment.

Every brain, at every moment, is processing more than 11 million bits of data.

— Robin GobelExplaining the immense cognitive load children face.

Gobel likens the brain's constant data processing to a system that prioritizes safety by distinguishing the familiar from the new. The influx of novel information from classrooms, people, and rules requires substantial mental energy. A child entering a new classroom has already depleted some of these resources, making them more susceptible to reaching their limit, even if they appear outwardly calm.

A child entering a new classroom has already depleted some of their mental resources. That's why they are closer to their breaking point, even if it looks like everything is fine on the outside.

— Robin GobelDescribing the internal state of children at the start of the school year.

This heightened sensitivity is further exacerbated by potential fatigue, hunger, or even lingering anxieties about strict teachers. Gobel emphasizes that tantrums or meltdowns, especially after school, often occur because children have been suppressing their emotions all day and finally feel safe enough to release them with a trusted parent.

Defiance is a symptom. It occurs when the nervous system is in a defensive state.

— Robin GobelClarifying the root cause of challenging behaviors.

When children exhibit these behaviors, Gobel cautions against common parental reactions like rationalizing, offering quick fixes, or minimizing their feelings. Instead, she stresses the importance of first validating the child's emotions, creating a calm environment, and then addressing the behavior. Attempting to lecture or reason with a child in distress is ineffective, as they lack the cognitive capacity to process such input.

A child in that state cannot receive a lesson about behavior. They currently have no capacity for that conversation.

— Robin GobelAdvising against lecturing during a child's meltdown.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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