Ah, summer. The season of popsicles, late bedtimes, and that magical moment when parents realize just how long a day can feel when the kids are home full-time. While you’re busy figuring out how many snacks a child can possibly eat in one afternoon (spoiler: it’s infinity), consider this—summer might just be the best time to get your child some therapeutic support.
Here’s why therapy in flip-flop season makes a surprising amount of sense:
1. No School = More Emotional Bandwidth
During the school year, kids are often overloaded with academics, social dynamics, and extracurriculars. By June, many are running on emotional fumes. Summer clears the decks. No tests, no book reports, no trying to remember which day is gym—just a lot more space to breathe, reflect, and start processing.
2. A Built-In Reset Button
If the school year felt like a series of “uh-oh” emails from the teacher and tearful mornings, summer is your family’s much-needed reset button. Therapy now can help your child make sense of what happened, develop new skills, and walk into September feeling more prepared—and hopefully with fewer surprise incidents.
3. More Scheduling Wiggle Room
Getting to therapy during the school year can feel like a logistical escape room: you need to find the right time, the right therapist, and still make it to soccer practice with a snack in hand. In summer, with fewer commitments, it’s easier to find consistent times that don’t involve negotiating with your calendar.
4. More Opportunities to Practice in the Wild
Summer = unstructured time = more chances for kids to try out their new emotional skills in real-world situations. Like when their little sibling “accidentally” eats the last freezie, or when the Minecraft server crashes mid-build. These moments are golden for practicing regulation, boundary-setting, and yes, creative breathing techniques.
5. Prepping for the Next School Year (Without a Panic Spiral in August)
It’s amazing how quickly “we have the whole summer!” turns into “school starts in three days and no one owns socks.” Starting therapy in the summer helps kids build coping tools and confidence ahead of the school year, so you’re not scrambling to find support during the back-to-school frenzy.
6. It Doesn’t Have to Feel Like One More Thing
During the school year, therapy can feel like just another appointment in an already jam-packed week. But in the summer? It can be a calm, cozy hour—a break from the chaos of camp drop-offs and beach towel laundry. A chance for your child to connect, reflect, and be heard.
Added bonus: with so many therapists providing online sessions all you need is a quiet space and a (semi) reliable internet connection.
A Season for Growth (and SPF 50)
Summer is often seen as a break, but it can also be a bridge—a gentle time to build emotional tools, deepen self-understanding, and set the stage for a stronger school year ahead. Whether your child is navigating anxiety, friendship challenges, big feelings, or simply learning more about themselves, therapy in the summer gives them a solid foundation to grow from.
So while you’re stocking up on sunscreen and googling “how to entertain kids without spending $500 a week,” consider adding therapy to your summer list—it might just be the most grounding thing you do all season.
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