Your Calm Parenting Path

36. Lessons From the School Holidays

• Nina Visic • Episode 36

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Six weeks of school holidays can feel like a lot - especially when the routines and structures that usually hold everyone steady disappear.

In this reflection episode of Your Calm Parenting Path, Nina shares honestly from the middle of the long school holidays - not from the other side of them. 

This isn’t about getting it all right or creating perfect holiday memories. 

It’s about what genuinely helped us get through, what didn’t work the way she hoped, and what she's learning to carry forward into the next school break.

If the holidays left you feeling exhausted, reactive, or quietly wondering if it was just hard for you - this episode is for you.

 

In This Episode

In this episode, Nina reflects on:

  • Why school holidays feel so big - especially long ones
  • Letting go of rigid schedules and focusing on rhythm instead
  • What my activity box experiment taught me about perfection
  • Screens, meltdowns, and the reality of nervous system limits
  • Temporary screen bans and why they brought more calm
  • What happens when mindfulness slips - and how to come back
  • Flexibility with bedtimes, mess, and expectations

 

Three Key Takeaways

  • Rhythm matters more than structure during the holidays.
  • Perfection creates pressure - for parents and kids.
  • Calm parenting is about coming back, not getting it right.

 

Why This Episode Matters

School holidays often remove the invisible structure that helps families cope - and many parents struggle through them feeling alone or like they’re failing.

This episode offers permission to stop striving for perfect holidays and instead reflect with honesty and compassion. 

Calm parenting isn’t about flawless regulation - it’s about noticing what supports you, adjusting when things aren’t working, and coming back to yourself again and again.


Small Shift for Big Impact

As you settle back into routine, you might like to gently reflect on:

  • What felt hardest during the holidays for you?
  • What genuinely helped - even a little?
  • What do you want to carry forward, or let go of, next time?

 

You don’t need to fix anything. Noticing is enough.


Take the next step

If the holidays stretched you more than you expected, you don’t have to work through that alone.

You’re warmly invited to book a SOS Parenting Support Call - to gently explore what felt hardest and identify one or two small shifts that can support you right now.

👉 Learn more or book at here.
 

Links & Resources Mentioned

 

Let’s Connect


About Nina

Nina is the voice behind Your Calm Parenting Path and the founder of Mindful Parenting Lifestyle. 

She supports parents to move away from reactivity and overwhelm and toward calmer, more connected family relationships.

Through mindfulness, nervous system awareness, and self-compassion, Nina helps parents understand that calm parenting isn’t about being perfect - it’s about learning, adjusting, and coming back to yourself with kindness.

This transcript has been copied and pasted but not proofread or edited, so it may contain errors or inaccuracies.


You're listening to Your Calm Parenting Path. I’m your host, Nina, a mindful parenting coach and mum, here to help you go from overwhelmed and reactive to calm, confident, and connected with your kids.

 

This show is for parents who want to raise their children with more patience, less stress, and a whole lot more joy. Because small shifts make a big impact—and you can build the parenting life you’ve always wanted.

 

If you want to see what I’m up to, follow me on Instagram at [your handle]. And don’t forget to hit follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode.

 

Now, let’s get started!

 

Hello, and welcome back to Your Calm Parenting Path for 2026.
I’m really glad you’re here.

As we start a new year, I wanted to do something a little different with today’s episode.

Here in Australia, we’ve just come to the end of six weeks of school holidays and after only two days back at school, it seems like such a long time ago.

 

Having said that, I still think it’s important for little bit of school holiday reflection - so with that in mind, I wanted to record an episode that wasn’t about doing school holidays perfectly or having it all figured out.


 This is a reflection episode.

 

I want to share what helped us get through the holidays, what didn’t work as well as I hoped, and what I’ve learned that I want to carry into the next school break. And my hope is that as you listen, you’ll hear yourself in parts of this — and maybe feel a little less alone.

WHY SCHOOL HOLIDAYS FEEL SO BIG

School holidays are a lot. Especially long ones.

During the school term, there’s so much invisible structure holding us up. There’s routine, predictability, and a general rhythm to the day — even when things feel busy or stressful.

Then holidays arrive, and all of that disappears.

For us, these holidays included a trip to Melbourne for a wedding, Christmas, Serbian Christmas, two birthdays, and a lot of time at home in very hot Perth weather. When it’s that hot, even simple outings feel exhausting.

So the goal for me wasn’t to create magical days every day.
 It was to get through the holidays in one piece — emotionally and mentally — and hopefully still enjoy parts of it along the way.

 

I want to share my three biggest lessons from the school holidays

LESSON ONE: RHYTHM OVER SCHEDULE (EXPANDED)

One of the biggest things that helped me was focusing on rhythm rather than schedules.

In the past, I’ve tried to plan holidays with more structure — activities planned, expectations set, days mapped out. And honestly, that often adds pressure rather than reducing it.

 

This time, I kept it really simple.

 

Instead of thinking in terms of times, I thought about order.


 First this… then this… then this.

 

So screens might come first in the morning, then breakfast, then something active or creative, then rest. No strict timelines — just a predictable flow.

 

This was especially helpful on the days I needed to work. I could plan my work around screen time, which meant I wasn’t constantly being interrupted or feeling frustrated that I couldn’t focus.

What this reminded me is that kids don’t need rigid schedules during holidays — they need to know what’s coming next. And honestly, so do we.

 

That predictability without pressure made the days feel more manageable.

LESSON TWO: THE ACTIVITY BOX & LETTING GO OF PERFECTION

Before the holidays started, I created an activity box. This was something I talked about in my Calm Summer Holiday Blueprint, and I really thought it would be a big help.

 

I went to the shops, filled a box with activities the kids could do independently — word searches, puzzle books, colouring, a card game — things I genuinely thought would keep them occupied while I worked.

 

And while the idea was well received on day one, it didn’t really play out the way I imagined.

They took everything out, thought it was cool… and then mostly went back to doing their usual things.

 

What did get used constantly was Lego — which wasn’t even in the box — and one word search book.

 

That was a really important learning moment for me.

 

As parents, we often put so much thought and effort into creating things for our kids. But what I was reminded of here is that kids engage far more with what they feel ownership over.

 

Next time, I’d absolutely involve them in creating the box — choosing what goes in it — rather than deciding it all myself.

 

At the same time, I also had to let go of another expectation: having a tidy house.

 

There were toys everywhere. Lego stayed out for weeks. Books and cushions were scattered all over the place. And instead of fighting that constantly, I chose to let it go.

 

That doesn’t mean we didn’t tidy at all. It just meant I stopped waiting until I was overwhelmed. I prompted gently throughout the day and accepted a level of mess that felt manageable.

 

And honestly? Letting that go felt regulating for me.

LESSON THREE: SCREENS, MELTDOWNS & REALITY (EXPANDED)

Screens were probably the biggest challenge of the holidays.

 

We had clear rules. Nintendo in the morning for one hour, with a timer, and another screen session later in the day — usually a TV show or a movie.

 

That structure helped a lot. It stopped the constant asking and gave everyone clarity.

But even with clear boundaries, things still got hard.

 

There were days where turning off the Nintendo led to big meltdowns. One tantrum lasted 30 to 40 minutes. Another lasted close to an hour because a game was accidentally turned off mid-play.

And I want to be honest here — those moments were hard for me. I did yell at times during the holidays. Not constantly, but enough to notice. Enough to feel that familiar frustration rise.

 

After those meltdowns, I made the decision to ban the Nintendo for three days. And then later in the holidays, after another meltdown, we had to do it again.

 

I was nervous both times. But each time, those Nintendo-free days were some of the calmest days we had.

 

The kids were kinder to each other. They were more regulated. They didn’t ask for screens because they knew it wasn’t an option.

 

When the Nintendo came back, we had very clear conversations about how these games are designed to make you want to keep playing — and how learning to stop is a skill.

 

I also told them honestly that I couldn’t cope with the big reactions when it was turned off — and that banning it wasn’t a punishment, it was about keeping everyone regulated.

 

That felt really aligned with my values, even though it wasn’t easy.

MINDFULNESS, YELLING & COMING BACK TO CENTER

Another thing I noticed during the holidays was how hard it was to keep up with my mindfulness practice.

 

With less routine, more noise, and constant demands, my usual practices slipped. And when they did, I noticed the impact pretty quickly — less patience, more reactivity, and a shorter fuse.

That’s when I caught myself and thought, okay, this is a sign.

 

I didn’t try to do everything perfectly again. I just got back to basics — small moments of awareness, pausing when I remembered, grounding myself when I could.

And that made a difference.

 

For me, this was an important reminder that mindfulness isn’t something we either “do” or “fail at.” It’s something we come back to — again and again.

BEDTIMES & FLEXIBILITY

Bedtimes also shifted over the holidays.

 

Between travel, later dinners, and relaxed days, nights got later. And instead of fighting it, I decided to accept it.

 

We weren’t rushing in the mornings. The days were slower. And overall, that flexibility felt okay.

As we head back into the school term, we’re slowly bringing bedtimes back earlier — gently, not abruptly. And for my oldest, I’ve adjusted expectations altogether, because he simply wasn’t falling asleep until much later anyway.

 

For me, this was another reminder that flexibility isn’t failure.


 It’s responsiveness.

 

Why It’s Okay to Feel Relieved When School Goes Back

There’s one more thing I want to name before we wrap up — because I know this comes up for so many parents.

 

If you felt relieved when school went back… that’s okay.

That relief doesn’t mean you don’t love your kids.
 It doesn’t mean you wished the holidays away.
 And it doesn’t mean you failed to enjoy the time together.

Relief often just means that the load was heavy.

During the holidays, we’re holding so much more — less structure, more noise, more needs, more decision-making, more emotional regulation. And when that structure returns, it’s completely natural for your nervous system to exhale.

 

That exhale isn’t selfish.
 It’s human.

 

I think a lot of parents feel guilty about that relief — like we should feel nothing but gratitude or sadness that the holidays are over. But two things can be true at the same time.

 

You can love your children deeply and feel steadier when routine returns.


 You can value time together and need support, structure, and space.

 

For me, naming that relief — without judging it — was really important. It helped me see that what I was responding to wasn’t a lack of love, but a lack of capacity.

And that’s not something to criticise yourself for.


 It’s something to meet with compassion.

 

REFLECTION FOR THE LISTENER

As you settle back into routine, I’d love to leave you with a few gentle questions to reflect on.

What was the hardest part of the holidays for you?


 What genuinely helped?


 And what do you want to carry forward — or let go of — next time?

 

You don’t need to solve anything right now. Just noticing is enough.

 

Because calm parenting isn’t about getting it right — it’s about learning, adjusting, and coming back with compassion.

 

If this episode helped you feel a little less alone, I’d really love to hear from you. You can send me a message on Instagram at Mindful Parenting Lifestyle, or leave a comment on this episode.

Thank you so much for being here — and I’ll see you next week on Your Calm Parenting Path.

 

Thanks for listening to Your Calm Parenting Path! I’m so glad you’re here, and I hope this episode gave you something useful to take into your parenting journey.

 

If you’d like to dive deeper, sign up for my mailing list at mindfulparentinglifestyle.com.au for more tips and insights, or book a free chat to learn how we can work together. And don’t forget to hit follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode.

I look forward to speaking with you next time on Your Calm Parenting Path.