“Remedies” for Spring Fever

What did my child do? If your child’s personality seems to change at this time of year, try not to worry. In spring a child’s fancy turns to pushing limits and boundaries. The same process that incites spring flowers into what Rilke called “blooming most recklessly” propels children’s instincts for expansion. In the past people called these surges of energy “spring fever.” Wasn’t it nice when there was a name for it?

Mark Twain once wrote about the condition. “It’s spring fever and when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what you want, but it fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so.” Sound familiar? In this season, when teachers remark “What a wild day!” it’s a sure sign that the surging spring energy had been hard to contain. At home and at school, we need to remind ourselves that the new season ushers in fresh growth. 

In spring a preschool boy might urinate behind a tree. Kindergarteners may start talking about getting married. Everywhere children want to run. After reminding themselves that this is only a “seasonal disorder,” teachers have to summon their creativity to provide new projects and challenges to channel the forces of growth exploding within their students.

You may find yourself noticing the budding of new behaviors at home. Sometimes we can take advantage of these times by offering children more responsibility. Increased physical activity outdoors is also an age-old remedy for spring fever. How wonderful that we have them working in our gardens. Children also need encouragement to run, to climb, and to gambol like newborn lambs.

Springtime is also a period when we can reflect on limits and whether our children can help us create new guidelines that correspond with their spurts of new awareness and growth. And because of the time change, children require more sleep than we think.

You can always pause to share in the excitement that spring brings and the reality that the Earth itself pushes us all to change.