Summer, from sleep disturbances to irritability, the pediatrician: “It’s the re-entry syndrome of the little ones”

Difficulty sleeping at night, headache, mood swings. These are some spies of what pediatricians have framed as the ‘re-entry syndrome’. It can affect the young in the first 5 days after the end of the holidays and the return home. “It occurs mainly in children under 10 and is determined by the need to adapt to the reacquisition of the lifestyle and the usual habits interrupted, in a pleasant way, by the holiday period”, reports to Adnkronos Salute Italo Farnetani, full professor of Pediatrics of the Ludes-United Campus of Malta. “This adaptation in some children raises a stress responsible for some clinical symptoms, which must be known to avoid thinking that they are caused by diseases. But at the same time a strategy of prevention and help adaptation must be implemented”, accompany the children of the family in returning to the daily routine of always. “In the first place, sleep disturbances may occur – Farnetani lists – There may be difficulty falling asleep, sometimes the child stays awake in bed and this is a risky situation because it could facilitate insomnia. Sometimes he may wake up at night, or wake up particularly early in the morning. Abdominal pains can also be determined: generally they are reported near the navel and are short-lived, a few minutes. head, may be more irritable, experience drowsiness during the day. And may have loss of appetite, ie eat less. ” In the presence of these symptoms, Farnetani warns, “it is always good, in any case, to warn the pediatrician. But he will be told the day he returned from vacation. Prevention is important, that is, to facilitate adaptation to the ‘new’. lifestyle”. How? First of all, observes the expert, “during the holidays the child spends more time in the open air, therefore – even if it would always be good to do so – in the first days after returning, let’s keep him more away from home, for example by taking him to parks, swimming pools, Going for walks. A relaxing walk before going to sleep in the evening is useful. For those who can, the classic evening in a pizzeria these days is certainly to be recommended, precisely to try to facilitate the transition from the holiday period to the daily routine. foods, especially in these days, it is better to give preference to those you like best “. Chapter tasks of the holidays: “If you have to complete them or do some work in preparation for school – warns the expert – we wait until the first 5 most critical days after returning home have passed”.