Just as adults need annual leave to reset, children also need extended downtime.
- Senior Lecturer in Education, Edith Cowan University
The period immediately after completing Year 12 can feel unexpectedly anti-climactic.
Repeating a year can harm a student’s social, emotional and academic needs. This is why schools only recommend it in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
There are many reasons why children may need to have a significant break from school. It can help to return gradually.
Parents offer rewards because they think it will help a child reach a desired goal. But it is more helpful to focus on effort than ‘success’.
School holidays become a very different challenge when kids leave primary school.
At this point of the school year, many Year 10 students begin to seriously think about what subjects they might pick for years 11 and 12.
With NAPLAN moving to March and Year 11 and 12 students already in the throes of multiple assessments, exams are looming for many households with school-aged children.
Many organisations use ‘after action reviews’ to debrief after an event. A modified version could help parents work through the news their child is unhappy with an element of their school life.
As adults, we can reflect on experiences we’ve had in life that have helped build our resilience. But kids and adolescents are still developing grit and the ability to work towards a goal.
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