Kids Upset After Coming Home

You have just picked your child up from school, and they seem happy and tell you a little bit about school (probably about recess or something fun that they did). You feel like things are going well, you get home and get everyone settled. You start to get dinner ready or whatever else you normally do upon arriving home. You ask your child if they have any homework and they suddenly explode and start screaming. Ten minutes at home and your child is now in a meltdown.

This is not an uncommon scenario. If you’ve experienced it, know that you are not alone. Kids across the globe fall into the meltdowns after being away from home for an extended period of time. Whether it’s school, daycare, or simply playing outside with friends, it’s not unusual for a child to come home and have a negative attitude towards things.

The reason that this is often the case is because your child will be tired. Most kids won’t be able to recognize this or admit to being tired. You can ask your child if they’re tired upon arriving home, and they’ll generally tell you that they are not. Kids have a hard time recognizing when they’re tired and when they’ve overextended themselves (adults aren’t usually much better at knowing this either). In other words, you’re not going to be able to prevent this meltdown by checking if they’re tired upon arriving home.

When kids play hard and are having fun, they simply don’t recognize sometimes how much energy they’ve used. They are often still on that high upon arriving home. However, once that energy high burns off, they fall into a state where they’re tired and they are not getting enough oxygen to their brains. You need to work with them on how to work through these situations and recognize them when they arrive.

First off, you should try your best not to argue or yell at your kids. Getting upset at your child when they’re already in a meltdown state is not going to solve the situation. Rather than getting upset with them, you should either simply ignore them or else just tell them that you’ll discuss things with them when they’re ready to discuss the situation. Encourage them to lay down and rest. If they won’t rest, then simply letting them relax in front of the TV for a few minutes may be your best bet.

Once your child has regained their composure, you should approach the situation in a slightly different manner. Sit down by your child and talk to them about what needs to be done in a calm and reassuring manner. Don’t be mean about it, but do be firm. Just because your child is tired doesn’t mean that they can’t do what needs to be done. If needed, set a time for five minutes and say that as soon as the time is up, it’s time to get to whatever needs to be done.

If your child is hungry, you can give them a healthy snack to hold them over until dinner. Fruits and vegetables are always an option for children - we go through a lot of carrots and definitely recommend them as options whenever kids are hungry in our home. Our kids get a lot of carrots simply because they are hungry and we’re happy to have them eat them.

Your child going into a meltdown upon coming home isn’t uncommon. Your child is likely tired and simply needs to rest and regain a little energy. Be patient and work through it with them.