School Holidays With Sensory-Sensitive Kids: 5 Ideas That Help

School holidays are sold to parents as a break. For families with sensory-sensitive children, they are often the opposite  two weeks of broken routine, unpredictable noise levels, sudden plans and meltdowns that come out of nowhere.

Our paediatric occupational therapy team support families like this every week. Here are five things that consistently help.

1. Keep the anchor points

Your child does not need every minute mapped out. They do need the bones of their day to stay the same. Same wake-up time. Same breakfast routine. Same wind-down before bed. The middle of the day can flex. The edges should not.

2. Plan recovery, not just activity

If you book in a morning at the trampoline park or a friend's birthday party, plan the afternoon to be quiet, slow and at home. A "busy" day for a sensory-sensitive child is one big outing, not three. Recovery time is not a waste of the holidays. It is what makes the next outing possible.

3. Use a simple visual schedule

A whiteboard, a magnetic chart, even a few sticky notes on the fridge. Children who feel surprised by what is coming next melt down more often. A short visual run-through of the day's three or four anchor points helps a lot.

4. Pack a sensory go-bag

Noise-cancelling headphones, a fidget, a favourite snack, a water bottle, sunglasses. Outings get hard when a child is overwhelmed and you have no tools. A small bag with three or four reliable items can rescue a day.

5. Protect sleep

Routines slip in the holidays. Late nights, big mornings, screens at bedtime. For sensory-sensitive children, sleep is the regulator. The more bedtime drifts, the harder daytime gets. Hold the line on bedtime even when everything else flexes.

When to ask for more support

If your child is struggling more than usual at this time of year, or if a transition like starting prep or moving to a new class is on the horizon, school holidays are actually a good window to get a paediatric OT involved. The break gives us time to do a proper assessment without missing school, and you start Term 3 with a plan in your hands.

Our paediatric OT team work with sensory processing differences across our Mornington, Berwick and Reservoir clinics. NDIS and private clients welcome.