May is a strange month for a lot of families. The school year is almost over, summer is right there, and yet instead of feeling energized, your kid is dragging. Homework that used to get done is now a battle. A teenager who was motivated in September is barely showing up. A child who loved school is suddenly refusing to go.
This isn't laziness. For a lot of kids and teens, what you're watching at the end of the school year is burnout - and it's more common, and more real, than most parents expect.
Burnout isn't just being tired. It's what happens after months of sustained stress without enough recovery. In clinical terms, it tends to show up across three dimensions: exhaustion, a loss of motivation or caring (what researchers call cynicism), and a feeling that effort doesn't lead anywhere meaningful.
For kids and teenagers, the school year is genuinely demanding. Academic pressure, social stress, extracurriculars, homework, early mornings, the particular exhaustion of being around people all day - it adds up. By May, most students have been running on that track for nine months. The fact that some of them hit a wall isn't surprising. What's worth paying attention to is how high that wall is and whether your child has the resources to get over it.
Research on student burnout consistently shows it peaks in May, right as the finish line comes into view. The irony is that the anticipation of summer - that light at the end of the tunnel - can actually make the last stretch harder, not easier. There's nothing left to push toward.
Younger children don't always have the language for burnout, so it tends to show up physically and behaviorally.
Watch for a child who suddenly doesn't want to go to school after months of being fine. Stomachaches and headaches on school mornings that weren't there in September. More meltdowns at the end of the day, especially after pickup - children often hold it together at school and fall apart at home when they finally feel safe enough to do so.
You might also notice a drop in the quality of their work, not because they've gotten worse at school, but because they genuinely have less to give. Increased clinginess, trouble sleeping, or a general flatness where there used to be energy are all worth noting.
Burnout in teenagers can look a lot like depression, and the two often overlap. A few specific signs that tend to show up in this age group at the end of the year:
Senioritis is a real thing - but it isn't only for seniors. By May, students across grade levels can hit that same wall of "I can't make myself care anymore." This shows up as assignments going missing, grades sliding in classes where they were doing fine all year, and a kind of checked-out quality in how they talk about school.
Cynicism is another marker. A teenager who used to have opinions about their classes, their teachers, or their future is now shrugging at all of it. That emotional flatness - not sadness exactly, just a lack of caring - is one of the more reliable signs that something has depleted beyond just normal tiredness.
Irritability is often how exhaustion comes out in teenagers. If your teen is snapping at everyone at home and you can't figure out why, consider that they may be running on empty and home is the one place they don't have to perform.
One of the things I see most often in families this time of year is a parent who's been attributing behavioral changes to attitude or motivation, when what's actually underneath is depletion.
The conversation shifts when we start asking not "why won't they try" but "what have they been carrying all year and what does their tank look like right now." Those are different questions, and they lead to different responses.
It's also worth checking in with yourself as a parent. End of year is exhausting for families too - the logistics, the events, the emotional labor of getting to the finish line. A depleted parent has a harder time seeing a depleted kid clearly, and an even harder time responding with patience rather than frustration. That's not a judgment. It's just true, and it's worth naming.
A few things that make a real difference for burned-out kids and teens in the final weeks of school:
If your child has been showing signs of depletion for several months, if the flatness or irritability or refusal started well before May, or if they're expressing hopelessness that goes beyond being done with school - it's worth taking a closer look.
Burnout and depression can be hard to distinguish from the outside. Both involve low energy, reduced motivation, and emotional flatness. The difference is partly about duration and pervasiveness - burnout tends to be more situational and lifts when the stressor does, while depression is more global and persistent. But in teenagers especially, burnout can be the entry point into something more significant if it's not addressed.
Summer is actually one of the better times to start therapy, precisely because the school year pressure is off and there's more room to do the work. If something has been nagging at you about how your kid is doing, the end of the school year is a reasonable time to act on that rather than wait and see.
If you're in the Los Angeles area and want to talk through what you're observing with your child or teenager, I offer a free consultation for parents and families.
Schedule a free consultation here.
Max Cadena is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in Echo Park, Los Angeles. He specializes in therapy for children, teens, young adults, adults, and families, with in-person sessions in Echo Park and telehealth available across California.
