A child starting a new school in a new language is doing something most adults would find exhausting: listening all day to words they half understand, reading a room they don't know the rules of, and being cheerful about it. They hold it together until 4 pm. Then it comes out — in the car, at dinner, at bedtime — as tears, stomach aches, clinging, or a fury about the wrong cup.
Parents in Mougins, Valbonne and Antibes describe this to me every September. It's not a problem with the child. It's a small nervous system on alert for seven hours, discharging the moment it's safe. A short Reiki session at bedtime is one of the gentler ways to help that discharge happen without the fury — and it always sits alongside the paediatrician, never in place of one.
What adjustment stress looks like
- Fine at school, falls apart at home
- Stomach aches with no cause the doctor can find
- Bedtime taking two hours; waking in the night
- Clinginess in a child who wasn't clingy
- Big reactions to small things — the sock, the cup, the wrong spoon
- Regression: a five-year-old acting three
Teachers often say the child is "doing brilliantly." They are. That's the cost.
What a session is, for a child
Fifteen to twenty-five minutes, at bedtime, in their bed, with you in the room. The child doesn't have to lie still, close their eyes, or do anything. A book, a toy, a screen if that's what settles them. I sit beside them and rest my hands lightly on the shoulders, upper back, or feet, and keep them there. I don't talk about feelings unless they do. I don't use the word "energy." To them it's a quiet quarter of an hour with someone calm.
Most children go quiet within minutes. A lot of them fall asleep. That's the session.
What one family saw
A child who'd been waking most nights for months after a move began, after a few bedtime sessions, to sleep through. The parent's message was one line: he'd slept the night. I don't know precisely what changed. I know a body that had been on alert had a few experiences of someone steady beside it with nothing asked, and I know a household where the child sleeps is a different household within a week.
The parent
I'll say it every time: the most useful session in a stressed household is often the parent's. Children read the adult's nervous system before they read anything else. A settled parent at 6 pm does more than anything I can do in fifteen minutes. If you're empty, start there.
When to see the paediatrician
Stomach pain that persists, fever, real sleep disorders, anxiety that's stopping school or eating, anything that worries you. Doctor first. I'll ask about this before we book. Reiki is complementary — the calm around the care, not the care.
What I say to the child
Almost nothing, and that's deliberate. Children are asked to explain themselves all day at a new school. The session is a place where nobody asks. I introduce myself, ask what they're reading or watching, sit down beside them, and put my hands on their shoulders as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world — because to them, if I treat it that way, it is. The parent stays in the room. If the child wants to chat, we chat. If they go quiet, that's the session working.
FAQ
How can I help my child adjust to a new school abroad? Expect the fallout at home, not at school — it means they're coping there. Keep bedtime steady, lower demands after 4 pm, and if it's not settling, a short calm-presence session at bedtime can help a stressed small nervous system stand down.
Is Reiki suitable for children? Yes, in a short form — fifteen to twenty-five minutes, parent present, nothing applied. Always alongside the paediatrician.
How long until a child settles into a new school? Usually a term. If the after-school fallout is still severe after two or three months, or there are physical symptoms, see the paediatrician.
If September is hard in your house
Message me on WhatsApp with your child's age and what bedtime looks like. Children's sessions are short and priced accordingly. If the honest answer is that you need one first, I'll say so.