Coping Skills for Kids During School Breaks

School breaks can be exciting, but changes in routine, reduced contact with friends, and unstructured time can also leave children and teens feeling anxious, irritable, restless, or overwhelmed. A few predictable routines and simple coping skills can make spring and summer transitions easier for the whole family.

Spring break and summer vacation give families opportunities to slow down, spend time together, and enjoy activities that may not fit into the school-year schedule. However, even positive changes can be challenging for children.

Some children miss the predictability of the school day. Others lose regular contact with friends, teachers, counselors, and other important supports. Sleep schedules may shift, expectations may be less clear, and parents may be balancing work with additional childcare responsibilities.

If your child becomes more anxious, irritable, emotional, or restless during school breaks, it does not necessarily mean that anything is wrong. Your child may simply need help adjusting to a different rhythm.

Why Can School Breaks Be Difficult for Children?

Children and teens often rely on routines more than adults realize. During the school year, much of the day is predictable: children know when they will wake up, eat, attend class, see friends, complete schoolwork, and return home.

When that structure disappears, children may have more difficulty knowing what to expect or what is expected of them. School breaks can also affect:

• Sleep: Later bedtimes and inconsistent wake-up times can affect mood, attention, and emotional regulation.
• Social connection: Children may miss friends, teachers, coaches, or other trusted adults.
• Activity levels: Less movement or more screen time may contribute to restlessness and irritability.
• Access to support: Some children receive emotional, educational, behavioral, or nutritional support through school.
• Family expectations: Parents and children may have different ideas about chores, screen time, independence, and how the break should be spent.
• Upcoming transitions: Children may already be worrying about summer activities, returning to school, changing grades, or starting at a new school.

How Parents Can Make School Break Transitions Easier

A helpful school-break routine does not need to recreate the entire school day. Instead, try to maintain a few predictable anchors while leaving room for rest and flexibility.

Keep a Few Parts of the Day Consistent

Regular wake-up times, meals, and bedtimes can give the day a dependable shape. Schedules can be more relaxed than they are during school, but large or frequent changes may make it harder for some children to regulate their emotions.

Create a Simple Daily Plan

Younger children may benefit from a written or visual schedule. Older children and teens can help decide how they will balance responsibilities, friends, family activities, recreation, and downtime.

A simple plan might include:

• A consistent morning routine
• Meals and snacks at predictable times
• Movement or time outdoors
• A planned activity or responsibility
• Time to connect with friends
• Quiet or unstructured time
• A consistent evening routine

Talk About Expectations Before Problems Develop

Discuss screen time, chores, visitors, transportation, bedtime, and family activities before the break begins. Clear expectations can reduce misunderstandings and help children know what freedom and responsibility will look like.

Protect Important Relationships

If your child is missing friends or trusted adults, help them identify realistic ways to stay connected. This might include a playdate, a phone call, a community activity, summer programming, or time with extended family.

A Five-Senses Grounding Exercise for Kids and Teens

Grounding exercises help children shift their attention away from racing thoughts or overwhelming emotions and toward what is happening in the present moment. They do not make every uncomfortable feeling disappear, but they can create enough space for a child to pause and decide what to do next.

Invite your child to look around and identify:

1. Five things they can see
2. Four things they can feel, such as their feet on the floor or clothing against their skin
3. Three things they can hear
4. Two things they can smell
5. One thing they can taste or would enjoy tasting

You can shorten the exercise for younger children by asking them to identify one thing for each sense. Children do not need to close their eyes, and the exercise should not be forced. The goal is to help your child become curious about what they notice rather than to perform the exercise perfectly.

Mindful Breathing: The Physiological Sigh

Another brief coping strategy is sometimes called a physiological sigh or cyclic sigh. It uses two inhales followed by a longer, slower exhale.

1. Take a comfortable breath in through the nose.
2. Without forcing it, take one smaller second inhale.
3. Slowly exhale through the mouth.
4. Allow the next breath to happen naturally.

Your child can try this once or repeat it a few times. Keep the exercise brief and comfortable. Stop if your child feels dizzy, lightheaded, short of breath, or uncomfortable.

Research involving adults suggests that structured breathing practices—particularly breathing that emphasizes a longer exhale—may help reduce physiological arousal and support mood. However, breathing exercises are coping tools, not replacements for therapy, medical care, or other needed support.

What If My Child Says Mindfulness Does Not Work?

Children and teens sometimes believe they are “bad” at mindfulness because their minds wander, they feel silly, or they do not immediately feel calm. Mindfulness is not about completely clearing the mind or eliminating every uncomfortable feeling.

The skill is noticing what is happening and gently returning attention to the present. A wandering mind is not a failure—it is an opportunity to practice returning.

If your child dislikes one exercise, offer choices. Some children prefer breathing exercises, while others respond better to movement, music, drawing, sensory activities, going outside, or talking with a trusted person.

Our article on deep-breathing strategies for children includes additional exercises your family can try.

How to Help Coping Skills Work at Home

Coping strategies are most helpful when children practice them before they become completely overwhelmed. Consider these suggestions:

• Practice during calm moments. It is difficult to learn a new skill in the middle of an emotional crisis.
• Model the skill yourself. Children learn by watching adults pause, breathe, name emotions, and respond thoughtfully.
• Offer a choice. Ask whether your child would prefer breathing, grounding, movement, quiet time, or connection.
• Validate before problem-solving. Let your child know that their feelings make sense before suggesting a strategy.
• Keep it brief. A coping skill does not need to become a long activity or another task your child must complete perfectly.
• Notice effort. Recognize your child for trying a skill, even if it does not immediately change how they feel.

Children experiencing significant anxiety may need more than relaxation strategies. Our child and teen anxiety therapy page explains how treatment can help young people understand anxiety, reduce avoidance, and build confidence.

When Should Parents Consider Therapy?

Temporary frustration or difficulty adjusting to a break can be developmentally expected. Consider talking with a mental health professional when emotional or behavioral concerns are persistent, intense, or interfering with everyday life.

Additional support may be helpful if your child or teen:

• Experiences frequent or intense emotional outbursts
• Seems persistently anxious, irritable, sad, or withdrawn
• Has significant changes in sleep, appetite, energy, or motivation
• Avoids friends, activities, school, or age-appropriate responsibilities
• Has difficulty returning to routine after the break
• Needs constant reassurance or becomes extremely distressed by changes
• Uses unsafe behaviors to cope with intense emotions
• Is experiencing concerns that are creating significant stress for the entire family

Therapy may include individual work with the child, caregiver involvement, family therapy, play-based strategies, cognitive behavioral approaches, or skills for mindfulness and emotional regulation. Learn more about our therapy services for children, teens, and families.

Sources and Additional Information

• American Academy of Pediatrics: Stress-Free School Breaks
• Balban et al.: Brief Structured Respiration Practices Enhance Mood and Reduce Physiological Arousal

Clinically reviewed by Jeffrey LaPonsie, LMSW-C, Clinical Director. Last reviewed September 2026.

This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for individualized mental health or medical care. Breathing exercises should be comfortable and should be stopped if they cause dizziness, breathing difficulty, or distress.

If your child is in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. For immediate crisis support, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.