With Thanksgiving in the rearview and holiday treats on deck, December becomes one long parade of distractions. For many families, that’s festive. For students who struggle with executive functioning, it’s a perfect storm.

Executive functions are fragile even on a good day. Transitions throw them completely off balance. Many of these students are bright, with cognitive strengths others would envy—but executive functioning is nonverbal. You can’t “think” your way out of procrastination, disorganization, or chaos.

That’s why a simple structure is essential heading into December break. January hits fast, and without guardrails, parents get the typical disaster: broken sleep cycles, forgotten assignments, upside-down routines, and a complete reset that takes weeks to fix.

The good news? Staying sharp isn’t complicated. It’s about fundamentals: small, repeatable habits that keep the brain from flatlining. Here are the five most reliable and digestible ways to help kids, teens, and even adults avoid the January crash.

Protect Their Sleep (and Yours)

Sleep is always the first thing to fall apart during break. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 8–10 hours for teenagers.

But during December, most teens drift into a different time zone entirely. If someone is waking up at 1 or 2 p.m., they weren’t “catching up;” they were likely up until three or four in the morning.

Let’s be honest: taking a teenager’s phone at night is preparation for war, but the cost of letting them stay up all night gaming or scrolling is steep. When January arrives, their body clock is so out of sync that the return to school feels like a physical attack. Motivation tanks. Mood dips. Working memory stalls.

What parents need are anchors: a consistent wake-up window, a darker bedroom, and a phone charging outside the bed. Tiny guardrails now prevent a major reset later.

Keep a Daily Structure

Kids don’t need perfect mornings during break; however, they do need a little predictability. Completely removing structure for two weeks is like turning the engine off before a highway merge; everything lags when it’s time to restart.

A simple 10-minute morning reset is enough to keep their brain online:

• A quick tidy
• A glance at upcoming commitments: sports, travel, rehearsals, assignments
• A short plan for the day

It’s not about controlling their time. Those 10 minutes prevent the “I haven’t thought about school in 14 days” panic that hits after New Year’s and avoids the potentially looming Sunday Night Homework Wars.

Move the Body Every Day

Movement during break isn’t about fitness; it’s about brain chemistry. Exercise boosts working memory, activation pathways, emotional regulation, and processing speed.

They don’t need a workout routine. They just need motion:

• A short walk
• Shooting hoops
• A quick YouTube workout
• Running errands
• Shoveling snow (hopefully)
  

When the body moves, executive functions stay alive. When it doesn’t, EF problems grow into low motivation, irritability, slower thinking, and a much harder return in January.

Build One Real-World Skill

This is the secret weapon of December break. Kids don’t need homework, but they do need tasks that build planning, sequencing, and persistence. Real-world skills are “EF gold” because they force the brain to solve problems, anticipate steps, and follow through.

Think simple:

• Cooking a meal
• A household chore
• Organizing or tidying up
• Practicing typing (for younger kids)
• Starting and finishing a small project

These build the EF skills that erode fastest during breaks: delayed gratification, frustration tolerance, task initiation, and flexible thinking.

January 2nd Game Plan

The biggest meltdown of the year happens the night before school starts. Backpacks are disasters, portals go unchecked, and long-term assignments reappear like jump scares.

The 15-minute reset

A 15-minute reset the weekend before school eliminates most of that chaos:

• Clean out the backpack
• Check upcoming assignments
• Review long-term projects
• Set up a basic weekly plan
  

This prevents about 90% of the “I forgot…” disasters that derail January. These executive function strategies help students maintain structure, focus, and emotional regulation during December break.

Bottom Line

December break should be relaxing. A few well-placed anchors keep students sharp, grounded, and ready to return without a crash. With the right mix of sleep, structure, movement, and practical skills, January doesn’t have to be a restart. It can be a continuation.

Families who need additional support during transitions may benefit from executive function coaching, which focuses on planning, organization, follow-through, and emotional regulation during high-stress periods like the return from break.