school anxiety

At around pubertal onset children’s sleep timing shifts biologically, but for young children the summer drift is behavioral — later bedtimes, later mornings, looser mealtimes — and it is fully reversible with time. The problem is that most families don’t leave themselves time. Sleep specialists advise allowing at least a couple of weeks to fully shift a child back into school mode, noting that a quick, dramatic schedule change is far less pleasant for children and parents than a gradual one. Children with ADHD face an additional layer: children with ADHD are two to three times more likely than their peers to experience anxiety disorders, and predictability helps the ADHD brain prepare to shift, while sudden stops — especially from high-engagement activities — are hard. Starting in July converts a jarring reset into a series of changes too small to fight.