5 Ways to Help Regulate Your Child’s Nervous System During Back-to-School Season
Back-to-school season brings a lot of change.
New teachers. New classrooms. Earlier mornings. Busier schedules. More social interaction. And after a summer with a little more freedom and flexibility, getting back into the rhythm of school can feel like a big adjustment for kids.
Some anxiety around returning to school is normal, particularly as children adjust to changes in their routines and expectations. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, parents may notice changes in sleep, appetite, mood, or behavior when children are feeling anxious about returning to school.
That transition can sometimes show up in ways parents don’t immediately connect to stress. Your child might be more emotional after school, have a harder time falling asleep, become extra clingy, or melt down over something that normally wouldn’t bother them.
Sometimes, what looks like “bad behavior” may simply be a child who is tired, overwhelmed, or having a hard time adjusting to everything their day is asking of them.
The good news? There are simple ways parents, caregivers, and nannies can help children slow down, reconnect, and feel a little more grounded.
Here are five places to start.
1. Create Predictable Routines
Kids experience a lot throughout the school day that they can’t control. Creating some predictability at home can make their mornings and evenings feel a little easier.
During the first few weeks of school, try to keep routines relatively consistent. Wake up around the same time each morning, create a familiar after-school rhythm, and establish a predictable bedtime routine.
Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends gradually transitioning children back to their school-year sleep and wake schedules before school begins rather than waiting until the first day.
An after-school routine doesn’t have to be complicated. For many families, it might look something like:
Snack → Rest → Sensory Input → Play
Your child may come home hungry and ready to talk one day, then want nothing more than a snack and some quiet time the next. The routine creates predictability while still leaving room to respond to what they need that day.
Try This With Your Child:
Create a simple picture-based routine together. Let your child move a magnet, sticky note, or clothespin from one activity to the next as they move through their afternoon.
2. Practice Slow, Deep Breathing
You don’t have to call it a “breathing exercise” to help your child practice slowing down.
For younger children, turn it into a game. Ask them to pretend they’re smelling a flower through their nose and then slowly blowing out a birthday candle through their mouth.
You can also have them lie down with a stuffed animal on their belly and watch as the animal slowly moves up and down with each breath.
Breathing and relaxation exercises are commonly used as tools to help children manage feelings of stress and anxiety. Calm also recommends practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques as part of helping children navigate the back-to-school transition.
Try These Breathing Exercises:
Flower + Candle: Breathe in slowly like you’re smelling a flower. Breathe out slowly like you’re blowing out a candle.
Stuffed Animal Breathing: Lie down, place a favorite stuffed animal on your belly, and see how slowly you can make it rise and fall.
Finger Tracing: Hold one hand open. Slowly trace up each finger as you breathe in and down each finger as you breathe out.
The goal isn’t necessarily to make a child instantly calm. These are simply tools they can practice and return to when they need them.
3. Give Their Bodies the Sensory Input They Need
Think about everything a child does during a school day: learning, listening, socializing, following directions, sitting still, transitioning between activities, and processing all of the sights, sounds, and activity around them.
By the time they get home, they may need some time and space to decompress.
For some kids, that means quiet and rest. Others may seek movement, pressure, crunchy foods, climbing, jumping, or outdoor play. What feels regulating can look different from child to child; and even from day to day.
A simple after-school reset could include:
- A snack + cold water: Take care of hunger and hydration first. Crunchy or chewy snacks may also provide sensory input some children enjoy.
- Cuddles or deep pressure: A hug, cuddling with a stuffed animal, or another form of comfortable pressure may feel grounding for some kids.
- Swinging: Playground or sensory swings provide movement that some children find enjoyable or regulating.
- Jumping + “heavy work”: Activities involving pushing, pulling, carrying, climbing, or jumping give the body plenty of movement and resistance.
- Outdoor play: Running, spinning, climbing, biking, or simply spending some time outside can provide movement and a change of environment.
- Quiet time: Sometimes the best transition is simply having somewhere comfortable to rest without being asked to immediately move on to the next thing.
Physical activity can be an important part of managing stress during periods of transition. Guidance around back-to-school anxiety, including recommendations from Frisbie Memorial Hospital, encourages families to support healthy routines that include physical activity, adequate sleep, and time to decompress.
Activities that involve pushing, pulling, carrying, climbing, or jumping can give kids an outlet for some of that pent-up energy.
Try These Movement Exercises:
- Animal Walks: Bear crawl, crab walk, frog jump, or penguin walk across the room.
- Wall Pushes: Put both hands against the wall and see if you can “push the house over” for 10 seconds. Rest and repeat.
- Laundry Basket Push: Fill a basket with a few safe items and have your child push it across the floor.
- Pillow Crash: Create a safe pile of pillows or couch cushions for jumping or crashing into.
- Wheelbarrow Walk: Hold your child’s legs while they walk forward on their hands.
- Freeze Dance: Turn on a favorite song, dance until the music stops, freeze, and repeat.
- Outdoor Obstacle Course: Run to a tree → hop five times → crawl under something → spin around → race back.
Movement doesn’t need to be structured exercise. The goal is to offer different options and let kids discover what feels good to their bodies.
4. Create a Screen-Free Wind-Down Routine
After a long school day, handing over a tablet can feel like an easy way to let kids decompress. But as bedtime gets closer, creating some separation from screens can help children transition into their nighttime routine.
Calm recommends establishing healthy sleep habits during the back-to-school transition, including consistent bedtimes and calming routines that help children wind down.
Instead of screens right before bed, try quieter activities.
Read together. Color. Work on a puzzle. Listen to music. Take a bath. Talk about the day.
It can also help to keep the routine consistent. Instead of negotiating about the tablet every night, establish a clear time when screens are put away.
For example:
7:00 p.m.: Screens away
7:15 p.m.: Bath + pajamas
7:45 p.m.: Read together
8:00 p.m.: Lights out
Your family’s routine will look different depending on your child’s age and schedule. What’s most important is creating a transition that signals: the busy part of the day is over.
5. Make Space for the Big Feelings
One of the most powerful things you can do doesn’t require an activity, toy, or special technique.
Listen.
Back-to-school season can bring a surprising mix of emotions. A child can be excited to see their friends and nervous about their new teacher. They can love school and still fall apart when they get home.
Psychology Today emphasizes the importance of connection and helping children recognize and work through the emotions that can accompany the return to school. Similarly, Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends encouraging children to talk about their worries rather than dismissing their concerns.
When those big feelings show up, try getting curious before jumping immediately into problem-solving.
Instead of:
“There’s nothing to worry about!”
Try:
“It sounds like tomorrow is making you feel a little nervous. Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking about?”
Or simply:
“You had a really long day. I’m here if you need me.”
Try the 5-4-3-2-1 Exercise:
For older children who are feeling overwhelmed, invite them to notice:
5 things they can see
4 things they can feel
3 things they can hear
2 things they can smell
1 thing they can taste
You can do it alongside them rather than presenting it as something they have to do.
The Goal Isn’t to Keep Kids Calm All the Time
Nervous system regulation doesn’t mean keeping your child constantly calm.
Kids are supposed to run, jump, laugh, cry, get frustrated, get excited, and have big feelings.
Instead, think about giving them different opportunities for rest, movement, sensory input, and connection so they can begin learning what helps their own bodies feel comfortable and supported.
That might mean crunchy snacks and cold water after school. It might be a favorite show in a quiet room. It might be jumping into pillows, swinging, climbing outside, cuddling on the couch, or telling you every single detail about their day.
And it might look completely different tomorrow.
At Four O Six Nannies, we believe great childcare is about more than getting everyone where they need to go. It’s about understanding the individual child and creating safe, supportive relationships that help them feel seen and cared for.
Whether you’re a parent navigating the back-to-school transition or a nanny helping a family settle into a new routine, sometimes the smallest moments of connection make the biggest difference.
Looking for trusted childcare support for your family? Learn more about how Four O Six Nannies connects Montana families with experienced, dependable caregivers.
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