SPRING BREAK. Do this. 7 easy things.

What’s up everybody, I’m a little bit sick here, hmm… but spring break is right around the corner again. I’ve got seven ideas for you that will help your child.

Number one: understand that they do need a break. They have been going all school year. They legitimately need some time off. They need time to not think about school, to really be free, to really let loose, to really relax, to really decompress, to really gather themselves again, and to be ready for the final push of the school year.

Now, the final push of the school year is pretty hard because usually in April and May there really aren’t any three- or four-day weekends or any breaks or anything. It’s a very strong push for most kids. So like I said, they really need this break badly.

Number two: don’t talk with your kid about school during spring break—except when you have to. What I mean is, don’t just randomly bring it up all the time. Really intentionally think about when you’re going to talk about it. I do want you to have a heart-to-heart with them. I want you to sit down with them and talk about school and talk about life.

Have a time where you really honor it, talk about the final push of the school year, but then when it’s done, be done. If you guys have to work on school stuff during break, then talk about it then—but don’t let it linger or be sprinkled throughout the entire break. Let them have their break. Let them know when you’re going to have a serious talk about school, and then when it’s done, let it be done. And when you revisit it, give them a warning so they know it’s coming.

The intention is really that their mind can be free. Also, the emotional aspect is, I always say, so, so, so important.

Number three: you’ve got to understand the dip pattern, and you’ve got to understand how spring break factors into it. The spring semester dip pattern is this: students who struggle with executive functions start off the semester strong. Usually, a few weeks in, things start to fall apart, but it’s hard to see until between week six and week eight.

Then usually something happens when parents realize, suddenly, “Oh my gosh, things have fallen apart.” After that, you spend the rest of the semester trying to swim upstream—your child is trying to dig themselves out of holes, put out fires, catch up on makeup work, manage current work, do final projects, tests, papers, and reading assignments. Then the end of the semester comes up very fast.

With the dip pattern, of course, there are consequences. In this case, when the semester is over, if your child fails classes, they may have to take summer school or do retakes in the fall or face other consequences.

One of the problems is that kids who struggle with executive function are not realistic about the time and energy required to manage everything they have to do for the rest of the semester.

This is even more complicated in spring because motivation tanks due to spring fever. The weather gets nice, all the kids get a burst of energy, and they become even less motivated to do schoolwork. On top of that, they have their normal workload, their backlog of makeup work, and upcoming big papers, exams, reading assignments, and projects. So with decreased motivation, this is a lot for them to manage.

Number four: understand that your child probably won’t get anything done during spring break. It’s interesting how we—myself included—think, “Oh, this is a break, my child will catch up on all their work.” The reality is that it is very rare for people to get much done during spring break.

Number five: your child probably does have a lot of makeup work, current work, and prep work for upcoming assignments. If you are planning for them to work over break—if that’s really the best thing for them—you want to plan it in large chunks of time. You don’t want them to do a little bit every day. A half hour a day is not effective; they’re barely getting started and not even entering study mode.

Instead, I recommend choosing a couple of days where you schedule two- to three-hour blocks for them to really work. And I also recommend that you plan your own work during that time so you can co-work with them—your taxes, bills, or other projects.

Number six: at this point, you probably want to email the teachers and ask, “What’s coming up? I want clarity. Do we have any papers, projects, large reading assignments, exams coming up? Is there going to be a rubric or study guide?” You want to understand what’s ahead because your child likely won’t have that clarity.

Number seven: stay on it. This is the final stretch—do not give up. Your child might say things like, “Leave me alone, I’ve got this,” or “You’re annoying.” You can give them space sometimes, but you still need to stay on top of their grades, stay in contact with teachers, and stay aware of what’s happening.

Even though your child may resist and not want your help, the consequences are significant, so you need to stay engaged.

I hope you have a restful, fun, and enjoyable spring break where you can really enjoy quality time with your child. I’ll see you soon. Remember, if you like this video, please subscribe on YouTube, give it a thumbs up, and share my work with someone. Have a great day.