5 Tips to Help Kids Avoid School Burnout

The word burnout brings to mind a tired professional, dragging his feet to work, and trying to muster energy to do his job. It is not difficult to imagine that working professional to be our own child, resisting to do his homework and even wanting to skip school altogether.

According to Schaufeli, Leiter, and Maslach in their paper "Burnout: 35 years of research and practice”, the concept of job burnout came to people’s consciousness in the 1970s. Burnout in general soon came to be considered “as an erosion of a positive psychological state.” It is a common experience among people of different ages, nationalities, and professions.

With the increasing demand for academic excellence in order to be globally competitive, our young children tend to suffer from school burnout. School performance becomes a contest, and learning ceases to be fun.

Traditional private schools, for one, are notorious for giving a lot of homework everyday. High performing students get invited to special classes while most students get enrolled in extra-curricular activities.  All these goings-on leave kids little time to rest, resulting in school-related stress.

How do we protect our children from school burnout? Here are 5 things we can do:.

1. Let them play.
It is a sad reality that children do not get to be children anymore these days. Their life becomes a kiddie version of an adult’s routine: wake up, go to school, do homework, sleep, and do it all again tomorrow. There is hardly time for them to play.

We don’t need research studies to tell us that play is an important part of childhood. Watch any child absorbed in her play, and you will see a mind at work but rested.

Patricia Villa, graphic designer at Fancy Girl Designs, recognizes the value of play even during a school day. She stresses the importance of real playtime over gadget time, so she lets her 9-year-old play with a friend outdoors as soon as he arrives home from school.


2. Don’t overschedule them.
There’s no doubt that parents want the best for their kids. Many, however, mistakenly believe that they are doing right by their children by enrolling them in afterschool activities.

Many parents believe that enrolling in enrichment classes will help their kids get good grades or give them an edge over their classmates.The reality, however, is that school days are long, traffic is horrible, and homework takes a lot of time to do. Enrolling a child in even just one extra class will add to her burden.

The mom behind the popular blog My Mom Friday, Michelle Lim, is adamant about not enrolling her two children in extra-curricular activities. Like Patricia, she also values playtime even on weekdays and makes sure that her children have time for free play. With her rule about no extra activities, her children are able to pursue hobbies and have play dates with friends.

[previous|page|next]

3. Teach them to organize their time.
People need to feel that they have control over their day. This is true even for children, and the best way to give them a sense of control is to teach them how to prioritize and organize their time.

Jennyfer Ang Tan, Wordpress expert and the blogger behind The Techie Mom, taught her son that there is a time for everything. She trained him to prioritize the work he has to do and to limit his time playing with his gadgets.


4. Teach them to de-stress.
Being a student is a tough job. There will really come a point where a child will get stressed, exhausted, and unwilling to face one more worksheet.

Relaxing is a learned skill and parents need to teach their children how to de-stress. According to Marcia Eckerd, PhD in her article “Teach Your Kids to De-Stress,” kids should be taught relaxation techniques to help them become calm and able to clearly think again. Breathing normally, imagining happy things, and taking deep breaths are some of her recommendations.

Jennyfer’s son is easily stressed but has learned to seek quiet time for himself. She and her husband encourage their child to talk to them or teachers at school when he is feeling overwhelmed.


5. Motivate them.
People need motivation in order to continue doing what they have to do. Sometimes, with all the school activities, homework, and social and family expectations, children become cynical of the significance of what they are doing.

Jennyfer addresses this by showing her son the importance of what he is studying. However, she also takes away the pressure of getting good grades and only helps him to study when there is an upcoming quiz.

It is important for parents to give emphasis on what their children are learning and not on their report card. A higher goal of cultivating a love of learning must be set instead.

The world we live in is increasingly becoming fast-paced. As our children observe us and try to emulate us, they may suffer from burnout not only because of school, but also because of the stress that they see in us.

A study published in the European Journal of Developmental Psychology has actually found that there is a link between a parent’s job burnout and a child’s ownstress. What does this mean? It means that we must also slow down and de-stress in order to set a good example to our children.


Sources:
Schaufeli, W., Leiter M., & Maslach C. (2008). Burnout: 35 years of research and practice. Career Development International, 14 (3), 204-220.Retrieved from http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/311.pdf

Eckerd, PhD, Marcia. Teach Your Kids to De-Stress. Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/people-skills/200910/teach-your-kids-de-stress

Image from imgarcade.com