May is always rough for my kid -- anyone else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. But, you need to be organized and have a strategy in place to make your kids succeed for the entire school year. Work on their organizational and executive functioning skills from the get-go.

No kid who is doing well in academics and ECs in school/college and has his life on track, gets into the problematic depression and anger spiral. Even if they are sad, it is manageable.

Disabilities that make kids vulnerable to the chaos that happens in schools at the end of the year, are not because their parents didn't plan and strategize.

If your kid had good executive functioning and his life "on track", it's because his or her disabilities impact them differently, not because you are a superior parent.

If your kid hasn't experienced "problematic depression", it's because that isn't their particular genetics.

-- special educator who sees kids whose parents do everything right, yet who still struggle during a season with lots of change, lots of events that disrupt routine, stressful testing, and allergens.

[Anonymous]

I'm a SAT tutor and spring burnout is real. It's one reason why I'm not actually a fan of taking SATs in March-May. Kids are just fried by the end of the year.

[Anonymous]

For the last 3 years, mid-May has been a doozy. I'm not talking academics, just simply behaviors coming out of the blue. It seems weird to suspect allergies but what else could it be?

[Anonymous]

I thinks it’s common in May, September and December.,, transition months

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the last 3 years, mid-May has been a doozy. I'm not talking academics, just simply behaviors coming out of the blue. It seems weird to suspect allergies but what else could it be?

I'm the special educator who posted above. It's a crazy time of year. I teach High School, and kids are being tested, plus things are constantly changing to accommodate AP testing, and state testing. So, classes are moved or combined or have subs. The performing arts is having all their concerts and shows. Some sports are ended, so kids who need that structure and exercise are missing out. Some sports are going into post season play, and those kids are stressed. Lots of kids are graduating, or having siblings graduating, and that's wonderful and also anxiety provoking. For some kids the coming of summer is exciting, and excitement leads to impulsivity. For some kids, school is where they feel safe and get their needs met and the coming of summer is something that they grieve. Even if your kid is neither of those people, being surrounded by excited people and/or grieving people is tough.

Plus the plants and their darn pollen. Don't underestimate the impact of not getting a good night sleep because you're coughing or sneezing or can't breathe well lying down.

[Anonymous]

My wife is a teacher and used to teach 5 grade for over a decade. The last 6-8 weeks of elementary school are just rough. Half the kids are just ready to bust out into middle school. Hormones are taking off. They just feel like they've outgrown it all, and are beginning to really try to figure out who they are. Kind of a mini-senioritis.

The other half are sad, scared, feeling lost. They may struggle with learning disabilities or other conditions. For them, the last two months are max anxiety. Everything else is a symptom of it.

Either way, you can't escape it. The kids are going to middle school. Ready or not, here they come.

[Anonymous]

Yep! My kid worries her friends will forget her over the summer, worries about the following fall (so much change! especially with middle school on the horizon), etc.

Plus, a therapist once told us that excitement and anxiety feel the same in our bodies - heart racing, etc. So ND kids often get excited, then quickly flip to anxiety from misreading the body’s signals. It explained both May and December in my house so well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the last 3 years, mid-May has been a doozy. I'm not talking academics, just simply behaviors coming out of the blue. It seems weird to suspect allergies but what else could it be?

I'm the special educator who posted above. It's a crazy time of year. I teach High School, and kids are being tested, plus things are constantly changing to accommodate AP testing, and state testing. So, classes are moved or combined or have subs. The performing arts is having all their concerts and shows. Some sports are ended, so kids who need that structure and exercise are missing out. Some sports are going into post season play, and those kids are stressed. Lots of kids are graduating, or having siblings graduating, and that's wonderful and also anxiety provoking. For some kids the coming of summer is exciting, and excitement leads to impulsivity. For some kids, school is where they feel safe and get their needs met and the coming of summer is something that they grieve. Even if your kid is neither of those people, being surrounded by excited people and/or grieving people is tough.

Plus the plants and their darn pollen. Don't underestimate the impact of not getting a good night sleep because you're coughing or sneezing or can't breathe well lying down.

Not OP but thank you for saying this. My 3rd grader is having such a difficult time right now, and it really feels like it came "out of the blue" but I can see how all of this is impacting her. This was her first year of having to do the statewide testing, there are all these end-of-year projects and events (choir concert, science fair project due, school events), plus yes to allergies and associated health issues (eczema acting up after finally calming down with warmer weather, for instance). And then on top of it an excess of social drama at school. It's clear some of these kids are entering puberty in earnest and it's showing up in little dramas over "crushes" and friend groups. It's pretty exhausting and it's good to hear we aren't alone in going through it.

[Anonymous]

There are so many schedule changes and kids worry about leaving a teacher they like and not knowing who they will have next year. It’s hard. I’d let your kid talk about and reflect on it with them.

[Anonymous]

Yes the last three years May has been my teen's hardest month

The AP schedule really messes her up. The school is hotter and more uncomfortable and it's like exhaustion but not close enough to the finish line like June is.

I also believe many kids have histamine issues and this aggravates them as well this time of year. Females especially. There is a lot of info going around for ADHD, PMDD, and perimenopausal woman with potential MCAS doing really well on the Pepcid/Zyrtec combination. I am extremely interested in looking into comorbid issues in ND children and potential histamines. Considering that they have finally recognized that most girls/woman with PMDD also have ADHD and now the same with MCAS and ADHD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For full disclosure, we are FCPS and struggling to make it to the finish line. It's so hard to keep DC motivated when there is SO MUCH SCHOOL left.

Summer cannot come quick enough!

Same; I’m glad to know it’s not just us. The testing schedule and end of year schedule and workload don’t help.. I wish FCPS would space it out some.

[Anonymous]

When I taught, and I taught various elementary grades and it was consistent across every age, I called it Spring Derangement Syndrome. it's all kids this time of year. It might be more challenging when your child already has more hurdles, but spring is So. Freaking. Hard.