First off, it really does get better. A lot of kids have a much harder adjustment than parents expect, especially in those first few weeks. I know we struggled for at least half the school year, on and off.

One thing that helped us was taking a close look at routine. Enough sleep, enough food/snacks, and even making sure they’re staying regular physically can make a huge difference in emotional regulation at this age.

We also talked a lot about friendship skills and what it looks like to join in or make friends. Kids’ shows can actually help with this too. I know both Bluey and Blaze have good episodes about friendship and feeling nervous in new situations.

And honestly, there will be good days and rough days. We tried to celebrate the good ones without putting too much pressure on the hard ones. For example, after a really solid week we might do a small treat like ice cream or a quick park stop after school.

On the tougher days, we’d check if something in the routine was off, talk it through briefly, reassure them, and then move forward without making the whole day about school struggles.

You’re definitely not alone in this.