Written by, Kalpita
30th Jun 2025
There’s something so exciting about the beginning of school holidays. Those backpacks get tossed aside, the morning alarms are silenced, and all of a sudden, the days stretch out with so many possibilities to explore. But if you’ve ever spent time with young children during these school breaks, you might notice something curious: even when school is out, their stories about school are very much in. Ever wonder why vacation becomes a time for little children to share about their school lives? Their vacation voices matter and these holidays allow kids with the time and space to process, connect, and grow!
As a mom, I have always enjoyed spending quality time with my now 7-year-old girl and over the years, I’ve noticed how often she voluntarily shares details about her school life during school holidays. It’s not because I’m prying or persistently asking for a “school report”— it’s just that these stories seem to bubble up naturally.
Here’s why I think this happens, why it’s wonderful, and how all parents should support their young children through these moments – specially the little ones who are learning to articulate themselves.
1. School Is a Big Part of Their World
For youngest of the children, school isn’t just a place to learn reading, writing, math, art or craft. It’s their space where they learn to meet other little human like them, get to know those ‘strangers’, make friends with them, play games, and work together, face similar challenges, experience little wins and even more disappointments than they expected. When vacation comes around, out of sight doesn’t translate to out of mind. In fact, they suddenly have this time and space to process all those everyday school experiences in a different context. Bringing up and sharing those stories is their own unique way of making sense of it all.
What I Choose to do is Show Genuine Interest:
When my daughter starts telling me about the snack time adventures of her “Super Girls Team”, I make sure to listen actively and closely — even though I am in the middle of preparing dinner or shopping for groceries. And when I make a conscious effort to ask meaningful questions about this exclusive team – it’ rules, players, screening process, how they recruit and what’s their purpose; the way her face lights up makes it all so worthwhile. Even if the stories seem small, the emotions are BIG and my attention to details lets her know that her world, her feeling, her opinion matters to me.
Here’s a Tidbit to Explore:
I would recommend every parent to try setting aside a few minutes each day with their little ones (maybe during snack time or on a drive) just to chat about whatever is on their mind. Most of the times, those mind-blowing stories come out when you least expect them!
2. The Joy of Storytelling
Youngsters are natural narrators. With the packed schedules of their school terms, somehow, they do not find the mental space to sit back and reflect on the days that passed. But on vacation, with their family around and relatively fewer time pressures, the stories start to flow, and they begin to reflect.
What I Choose to do is Be an Enthusiastic Audience:
My girl loves to act out her stories during her role play activities, and I love how her narratives are complete with well timed sound effects, expressive body language and dramatic pauses for social impact. Instead of rushing her to get to the point, I try to join in — sometimes even playing the “the devil’s advocate” in her tales. This not only encourages her creativity, social engagement and communication skills but also makes him feel valued emotionally.
Here’s a Tidbit to Explore:
If for any reason your kid is somewhat shy to put in their input, you can initiate and chip in with your own story of your school life. This tends to spur them to bring in their stories as well.
3. Seeking Connection
School stories serve the purpose of giving young children a voice to bond with people who matter to them. By talking about school, they are actually inviting their parents, siblings, and friends into their lives.
What I Choose to do is Create Rituals for Sharing:
As a family, we tend to embrace any opportunity (while waiting for food to be served at a restaurant for example) to share something that happened during the day or week. These moments invite everyone, including the grown-ups – it could be about anything that made us feel something strongly, even something that made us think, question or doubt something. Sometimes, my girl’s stories are about school, and sometimes they’re about something else altogether — but the important thing is the connection we build through those exchanges.
Here’s a Tidbit to Explore:
Car rides, strolls, or even bath time serve as great opportunities for such conversations. The challenge is to make it a part of the routine yet not forced.
4. Processing Emotions
Not every school story is a happy one. Sometimes, little children need to talk about something that upset them or even confused them. School holidays provide the emotional space for exactly these kinds of conversations.
What I Choose to do is Listen Without Judgment:
I am forever tempted to jump in with fixes and guarantees when my daughter comes to me in trust over a blow-up with a friend or peer because of their unkind words. However, over the years, I have learnt to simply sit quietly, listen, empathise, and ask her what she feels about what happened. I, later bring up a conversation and tag her along into a discussion on the possible actions or words that she could use next time under a similar situation.
Here’s a Tidbit to Explore:
If your child is upset but not talking, get in sync with those behavioural cues and attempt to share a similar experience of when you felt the same as a child or still feel as an adult. This will possibly make them feel close to you and encourage them to open up about their deeper feelings.
5. Building Identity
As children grow older, they build their identity through stories. By thinking about things that happen to them at school, they discover who they are — they learn what they like, what they do not like, what they are good at and even what they cannot do well, just yet.
What I Choose to do is Celebrate the Uniqueness:
When my chatterbox excitedly tells me that she has been chosen to be the leader of her group for a gymnastics routine that she had trouble with a few months back, I am cheering her for all her hard work and perseverance as if she is the world's queen. These are the times when she sees herself positively and it motivates her to keep going.
Here’s a Tidbit to Explore:
Always make it a point to highlight your little children’s specific strengths as they go about sharing their stories.
“You were so very brave to try that tunnel slide even though you were concerned about your safety!” or “I love how you helped your new classmate settle in at school last week.”
These kind of affirmations stick with them and makes them believe in themselves.
Tidbits To Take-Away:
I hope that the next time you hear your kid or any kid launch into a tale about school/ or their lives in general (particularly on those play dates during the school holidays), JUST LISTEN UP!
There’s more than just chatter in those tales — there’s a window inviting you to sneak into their world, a chance to connect, and a sign that they trust you with the feelings that matter most to them. And personally, those stories are often the best part of school holidays, and I always look forward to them.
It is our sincere attention and empathetic support in such times that make our children feel noticed, listened to, and loved. And that is the true magic of a vacation!
