How to Help Your Child Beat Back-to-School Nerves

What happens to children over the summer

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that students can lose the equivalent of one to three months of learning during a long summer break, particularly in reading and maths. The effect is more pronounced in younger children and in skills that require regular practice to maintain.

The important thing to understand is that this is not about intelligence or effort. It is simply about consistency. Children's brains, like all brains, need regular use to retain what they have learned.

The good news: keeping skills sharp does not mean homework

Reading every day is the single most powerful habit to maintain. It does not matter much what a child reads – fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, or magazines – as long as they are doing it regularly. For children who resist reading, letting them choose their own books completely changes the dynamic.

Talking about numbers in real life covers more maths than most parents realise. Working out the change from a purchase, measuring ingredients in a recipe, or tracking how far you walked on a hike all keep numerical thinking active.

Exploring Madrid's museums and cultural spaces combines education with real-world experience. The Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CaixaForum, and the Planetario de Madrid all offer new ideas and perspectives that challenge children's thinking without feeling like school.

For more ideas on making the most of the season together, read our full Summer in Madrid with Children guide, packed with family-friendly outdoor spaces, cultural experiences and day trips.

Learning or practising Spanish is particularly valuable for children at international schools in Madrid. Summer gives children time to absorb the language at a relaxed pace, through conversations, films, and simple daily interactions without the pressure of a formal lesson.

How to structure summer without over-scheduling

One of the most common mistakes families make is swinging between two extremes: doing nothing structured at all, or packing the holiday so full of activities that children never have unstructured time.

Both approaches have downsides. Children need free play. They need boredom, in small doses, because boredom is where creativity tends to emerge. But they also benefit from some routine, a few anchor points in the week that give shape to long unstructured days.

A simple approach is to aim for one meaningful outing or activity each week, maintain the reading habit daily, and let everything else be free. That balance tends to work well across most age groups.

Preparing for September

If your child is starting at a new school in September, summer is the right time to begin preparing, gently and without pressure.

Talking positively about the new school, visiting the campus if possible, and finding out if any other children in the area will be joining the same school all help to reduce the anxiety that often builds up in August.

At ICS Madrid, our admissions team is always happy to welcome families onto campus before the school year starts. Seeing the classrooms, the sports facilities, and the outdoor spaces in person gives children a much more concrete picture of what September will look like, and that familiarity makes the first day considerably easier.

Children who arrive in September feeling curious rather than anxious tend to settle faster, make friends more quickly, and engage more confidently from the very first week.

A summer well spent is the best preparation for a strong school year

The families who arrive at ICS in September most prepared are rarely the ones who spent the summer doing academic revision. They are the ones who read widely, explored the city, had long conversations, tried new things, and arrived rested and curious.

That is the standard we aim to help every family reach, and it starts well before the first day of school.