The areas of the brain responsible for creativity and memory begin to atrophy
Cada septiembre, millones de familias españolas enfrentan el mismo umbral: el fin del verano y el regreso a las aulas. La psicóloga Lara Ferreiro recuerda que esta transición no es solo un ajuste de horarios, sino un momento en que la resistencia infantil puede revelar algo más profundo que la pereza —desde el miedo al acoso hasta el impacto silencioso de las pantallas en el cerebro en desarrollo. En una sociedad donde uno de cada tres escolares experimenta alguna forma de acoso y donde los dispositivos digitales ocupan cada vez más las horas de ocio, el regreso al cole se convierte en un espejo de tensiones que los adultos no siempre saben leer.
- La resistencia de un niño a volver al colegio puede ser simple inercia veraniega, pero también puede ser la única señal visible de que alguien le está haciendo la vida imposible en las aulas.
- Uno de cada tres escolares españoles sufrirá acoso durante su etapa educativa, una cifra que Ferreiro califica de problema social grave con consecuencias que se prolongan hasta la edad adulta.
- El uso excesivo de pantallas durante el verano no es solo un mal hábito: más de dos horas diarias pueden provocar atrofia en las zonas cerebrales ligadas a la creatividad y la memoria, advierte la experta.
- Señales como el insomnio, las pesadillas, los dolores de estómago matutinos o la enuresis en niños que ya no la tenían son alarmas que los padres deben distinguir del cansancio posvacacional ordinario.
- La respuesta no es la prohibición brusca ni la alarma inmediata, sino la observación paciente, la reducción gradual del tiempo de pantalla y la preparación progresiva de rutinas desde una semana antes del inicio escolar.
Septiembre trae consigo una tensión conocida: la del niño que no quiere volver. La psicóloga Lara Ferreiro lleva años estudiando este momento y advierte que lo que parece simple pereza puede esconder algo mucho más serio. El síndrome posvacacional existe y es medible. Los adultos lo superan en dos o tres semanas; los niños tardan algo más. Pero si la resistencia se prolonga, los padres deben hacerse preguntas más difíciles: ¿hay acoso? ¿Ha habido una separación en casa? —el setenta por ciento de las rupturas de pareja en España se producen en septiembre, señala Ferreiro—. El motivo importa porque la respuesta depende de entenderlo.
La distinción entre reluctancia y miedo es fundamental. Alrededor del cuarenta por ciento de los niños simplemente prefieren la libertad a la estructura, y se adaptan en pocos días. Otros cargan con un temor genuito. Son ellos quienes necesitan atención: el niño que vuelve a mojar la cama, que no puede dormir, que rechaza el desayuno o come por ansiedad. Estas señales cobran especial peso si el verano fue tranquilo, porque el contraste revela lo que el colegio se ha convertido para ese niño. Y los números respaldan la preocupación: uno de cada tres escolares españoles vivirá alguna forma de acoso, con daños en la autoestima que pueden durar décadas.
Para quienes simplemente necesitan reajustarse, Ferreiro ofrece un camino concreto: adelantar los horarios de sueño y comidas una semana antes, validar las emociones sin minimizarlas, enseñar técnicas de calma, preparar el material escolar juntos y organizar un encuentro con amigos antes del primer día. El deporte —tres horas semanales— ayuda a liberar la tensión acumulada. Las pantallas, en cambio, son el obstáculo principal. Más de dos horas diarias de uso pueden generar adicción y, lo que es más preocupante, atrofiar las zonas cerebrales vinculadas a la creatividad y la memoria. La solución no es la prohibición repentina, sino la reducción gradual conforme se acerca el inicio del curso.
El regreso al colegio es siempre una colisión entre dos mundos. Algo de resistencia es normal. Algo de ella es una advertencia. Lo que los padres necesitan ahora es aprender a distinguir entre una y otra.
September arrives and with it comes a familiar dread. Children who spent weeks sleeping late, moving without schedule, suddenly face the prospect of alarm clocks and classrooms again. Parents recognize the signs: the reluctance, the complaints, the slow mornings. But Lara Ferreiro, a psychologist who has studied this seasonal shift, warns that what looks like simple laziness can mask something far more serious.
The post-vacation syndrome, as Ferreiro calls it, is real and measurable. Adults typically experience it for two to three weeks—a sadness about returning to work that fades as routine reasserts itself. Children suffer longer, usually about three weeks, because they've had more time away. But if the resistance stretches beyond that, parents should pause and ask harder questions. Sometimes a child doesn't want to return because another student made school unbearable. Sometimes it's because a parent's divorce happened over the summer, and seven out of ten Spanish couples separate in September, Ferreiro notes. The reasons matter because the response depends on understanding them.
The distinction between reluctance and fear is crucial. About forty percent of children will resist the return to routine simply because they prefer freedom to structure. Most of them adjust within days, walking out of school with relief or even happiness. Others are different. They carry genuine dread. These are the children whose parents need to watch closely—for bedwetting that wasn't happening before, for insomnia, for nightmares, for a stomach that closes when breakfast is mentioned, for eating driven by anxiety rather than hunger. These signs, Ferreiro explains, matter especially if the summer was peaceful. The contrast reveals what school has become.
The numbers are stark. One in three Spanish schoolchildren will experience some form of bullying at some point during their school years. Ferreiro calls this a grave social problem, one that damages self-esteem in ways that can persist long into adulthood. It's not a minor issue. It's a pattern woven into the fabric of Spanish education.
For children whose resistance is simply the friction of routine, Ferreiro offers practical guidance. Begin adjusting schedules a week before school starts—not drastically, but enough that sleep and meal times shift gradually toward what school demands. Children under twelve need nine to eleven hours of sleep, though most get far less because phones and tablets occupy their evenings. Validate what they're feeling rather than dismissing it. Teach them to name anxiety. Show them techniques to calm their nervous systems. Buy the books together, get the uniform, arrange a visit to see classmates before the first day. These small acts of preparation can ease the transition.
Sport helps. Three hours a week of physical activity gives children a way to discharge the anger and restlessness that builds. Music and board games serve similar purposes. But screens are the obstacle Ferreiro emphasizes most. Over the summer, most children have spent excessive time on phones and tablets. If a child uses screens for more than two hours daily, Ferreiro warns, addiction may be developing and parents need to recognize it. The concern isn't moral—it's neurological. The areas of the brain responsible for creativity and memory begin to atrophy with heavy screen use. Children become, in her direct phrasing, less intelligent. The solution is gradual reduction, not sudden prohibition, adjusting screen time progressively as the school year approaches.
The return to school is never simple. It's a collision between the freedom of summer and the structure of the academic year, between who children became when no one was watching and who they're expected to be in a classroom. Some resistance is normal. Some is a warning. The skill parents need now is knowing the difference.
Notable Quotes
If a child's resistance to school lasts longer than three weeks, they may have experienced bullying in the previous school year and don't want to return because of it— Lara Ferreiro, psychologist
Heavy screen use causes the areas of the brain responsible for creativity and memory to atrophy, making children less intelligent— Lara Ferreiro, psychologist
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you say one in three children experience bullying, are we talking about serious incidents or does that include smaller social conflicts?
Ferreiro doesn't distinguish by severity in what I read, but the fact that she frames it as damaging self-esteem suggests she's talking about experiences significant enough to wound. The point is that it's not rare—it's common enough that parents should assume it's possible for their own child.
How do you tell the difference between a child who's genuinely anxious about school and one who's just being difficult about waking up?
The body tells you. A child who's lazy will complain and resist, but once they're at school they're fine. A child who's afraid shows physical symptoms—stomach problems, sleep disruption, bedwetting. The anxiety doesn't disappear once they arrive. It's there all summer, waiting.
The screen addiction piece seems almost separate from the bullying concern. Are they connected?
Not directly in what Ferreiro says, but they're both about what happens to children's brains during this transition. Screens atrophy creativity and memory. Bullying damages self-esteem. Both are ways the return to school can harm a child, just through different mechanisms.
Is three hours of sports a week really enough to make a difference?
For children under twelve, yes—Ferreiro suggests it's enough to help them discharge the intensity that builds up. It's not about becoming an athlete. It's about having a physical outlet.
What about the September divorces? That seems like a specific claim.
She says seven out of ten Spanish marriages separate in September. I don't know if that's precise, but the point is clear: the return to school coincides with major family disruptions for some children. That compounds everything else.