The Stress of Starting 3rd Grade

The Stress of Starting 3rd Grade

The advantages of having parents actively involved in their child's occupational therapy session is priceless. The past week has been one in which I have at least 5+ kids/families facing the aftermath of the stress of the school day.  These children are smart, have great parents who love and fully support them.  They are doing well in school, at the top quarter of their class and are well behaved with good manners at school.

The issue is when they come home from their school day and they are nasty to their siblings, verbally "rough" with their parents and sometimes take their frustration out on the dog.  When the parents ask the teacher for their input the teacher often says there are no "issues" at school. I believe that there is a reason for every behavior.  I have heard stories this week of kids hitting themselves in the head saying they are "stupid", melting down when it is time to do homework, saying they disdain school and some parents tell me that their son/daughter desperately need a break from 3rd grade  - thankfully Thanksgiving Break is right around the corner.

If you want to change the strength of a muscle you need to stress it. The same goes for learning. The issue I believe is that in our incessant need to strengthen the young brain we are in many cases over stressing it. When it is over-stressed the above behaviors flourish. The question is, "How do we address this at school and home?"