Spring creates crazy kids; here’s help controlling them

Children are heavily affected by spring. As the days become longer and the weather warmer, the barely constrained craziness that had been building up all winter in their little bodies explodes out, and smart parents know to be on their guard to control their little hellions or face the consequences.

Kids’ physical energy is parents’ biggest challenge. During the long winter months, when the nights are long and the days are cold, no one has much energy. Even kids don’t want to go out in freezing weather. Well, after the first snow that is – they’re biting at the bit to get out the door once the the first big snow fall of the year hits but after a few hours of freezing, they’re through. The next day, playing a snowboarding video game in a warm living room looks like a lot more fun. Heavy comfort food and thick blankets make everyone lazy and happy to lie about and do nothing.

With parents, energy we didn’t use in winter turns to fat and we have to work very hard to release it. With kids, they store it somewhere magical, and they can tap a nearly endless supply at a moment’s notice. And when is that moment? The first warmish day of the year. And the worse thing? While they can tap the energy instantly, they can’t stop the flow once it’s pouring through them. This would be livable if the weather got warm and stayed warm but, of course, this is St. Louis so we get a warm day followed by a week of miserable weather. Those weeks of bad weather can test your parenting patience, but you can do a few things to help you through the dark times and have everyone make it alive and sane until the sun once again basks us in all its glory.

Exorcise the Ya-Ya Demons: The Ya-Ya Demons will dig their evil claws into your beautiful, prefect child and turn him or her into a crazed beast from the dark recesses of your worse nightmares. One moment your kid is hanging out, being fairly normal and the next they are jumping off the couch a dozen times in a row while scream-singing songs they don’t know the lyrics to. Oh, the fun. In a situation like this, your only choice is to get the energy out of the kid ASAP. If it isn’t horribly cold or raining, take them outside, get them to walk around the block with you, say hello to your neighbors and help them with their numbers by counting how many houses on each street are for sale. If it is horrible out, get to the Science Center, the City Museum or even your local mall if it has a indoor play area; any place where kids are encouraged to run and jump up and down will work. Work them into a frenzy, tucker them out and, if you’re lucky, they’ll be passed out in the car seat before you get halfway home. This, of course, makes utilization of every halfway nice day a must. If it’s sunny out, get your kid out of the house. Walk to a park and make them play, kick a soccer ball around the back yard, anything to get them to move. Because if you let them sit, the energy they aren’t using will be stored up and will bubble out of them sooner or later, regardless if the weather is nice or not.

Get their mind moving: Anyone who remembers school will testify to the tiring effects of studying and using their minds a great deal. This is another way to get your kid tired on those days when you can’t get them out of the house. The trick is to get them involved in something intellectual before the Ya-Ya Demons attack. This doesn’t have to be discussing 19th century German philosophy or ranking the highlights of the Fillmore administration; it can be as simple as a board game or coloring. The idea is to get them concentrating on an activity and get them to focus their boundless energy there before it builds up and attacks you with screaming, running around like crazy people and missung song lyrics.

These are two ideas to help you with your crazy kids. Just remember it isn’t their fault they can’t control themselves, it’s just this time of year. So, you’ll get to do this all again next year. There, doesn’t that make you feel better?

Originally published on stltoday.com