Photo By: Adam Stanhope
Just as grown-ups can sometimes have a particularly trying day at the office, children will also have the occasional bad day at school.
Maybe they woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning or had a bust-up with their ‘bestie’ at lunchtime. Whatever the cause, when the child arrives at home many parents will wonder what turned their happy little child into a snarling monster over the course of an average day at school?
We’ve scouted around the best parenting blogs, chat forums and advice columns to find the best tactics for getting kids out of that age-old, post-school ‘funk’.
What’s all the fuss about?
Tantrums are a child’s way of communicating their frustrations in a world where they still have a lot of learning to do in terms of articulating their feelings and developing the right strategies for conflict resolution.
A toddler can throw a full-on tantrum at the smallest of things. Luckily, as a child gets older, the frequency and severity of tantrums will start to shrink as the child gains more independence and mastery of their feelings.
In the meantime, parents may have to employ a range of strategies for pacifying their child’s post-school meltdowns. Here are some the best tactics parents say they have used:
Feed the Animal!
If you’ve ever been in a crabby mood because you were hungry, you will know that having a little bite to eat will make you feel a million times better. For children at the end of a long and exhausting day of school, a healthy pick-me-up snack could be essential for parents hoping to maintain peace in their household until dinner time.
And if your child needs a bit of encouragement to pick up a healthy snack, you could reward them with one of our ‘I’m a Healthy Eater’ stickers.
Try After School Clubs
Sometimes children will burst out of the school gates with so much energy parents will find it difficult to calm them down enough to do even the smallest of things, like hold their hand while crossing the road.
In these moments, parents know that they could be on the brink of a kiddy meltdown and so many will sign their kids up to an after school activity to help them channel this surplus of excitable energy into something more productive!
School Stickers has a range of stickers for after-school activities including these Girl Guiding and Rainbows stickers. To help encourage your child’s attendance, parents could reward their child’s participation each week with one of these colourful stickers!
Have a Sense of Humour!
Sometimes a child will come home from school in such a bad mood they won’t even want to talk to you about it. At these times it can be difficult for parents not to fear the worst and wonder if their child may be struggling with bullying or exam pressures.
However, just like how many adults may go a bit quiet and sullen at the end of a tough day of work, children too may just need a bit of quiet time to centre themselves before opening up to you about how their day at school really went.
These Caught Being Good Stickers could provide parents with a touch of comic relief for these sulkier moments. Rewarding your child for raising a smile through the hard times could encourage them to be more open with you and more optimistic about whatever problems are bothering them.
Stick to Routines
Children thrive on routine because it helps them learn how to predict future outcomes, as well as provide them with a sense of stability and security.
However, if your child is feeling grumpy after a long day of school, it can be very difficult for parents to keep their kids ‘on schedule’, as even the best laid plans for things like homework and baths go completely out the window!
To help, School Stickers have a varied range of reward stickers, which help praise your child for doing the little things that make your life as a parent easier. For example, these Mummy and Daddy Penguin stickers let kids know that their parents are proud of them, whatever mood they’re in!
If you have any more ideas for parents on managing their child’s ‘after-school grumps’ then please share your ideas below.