When the Sunday scaries happen to your kid

Last week, like many kids, my sons were on a school break. I, too, took off work and spent a day with each of them solo, took them both to the zoo; they had camps and playdates, and I got to run the zillions of errands I never have time to do otherwise.

It was a lovely, productive week, which is why I think Sunday hit us all like a Mack Truck. Oh, play time’s over, we all seemed to collectively think. Hardest hit hit was my older son, whose anxiety seemed to rear its head throughout the day. We didn’t get that he was having the Sunday scaries until bedtime when he let his worries about returning to school out — all of which were about the social aspects.

We said some things, some of which may have been productive and many that may not have been, and comforted him. He’s 6, and as I’ve talked about here frequently, kids that age can be terrible to be around — both for their parents and their peers. The bedtime reveal served as a much-needed reminder that stress and anxiety can creep into kids’ conscious in a variety ways, and it’s our never-fully-done job as parents to help them through it.

So what do you tell your kids when they have these anxious bouts? What’s worked and what hasn’t? I’d love to hear from you at katea@huffpost.com.

Until next week,

Kate

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