Sports Day Overwhelm: Why We Left Early

Sports Day Overwhelm

Today my youngest two kids had Sports Day.

Some kids absolutely love it, but for many neurodivergent children, it can feel overwhelming rather than exciting. The noise, the change in routine, the unpredictability, the crowds, the pressure of competition, and the constant figuring out of where to go and what to do next can all add up very quickly.

Our school holds Sports Day at an athletics stadium so the whole school can attend. This morning’s rain added another layer, with wet clothing and equipment creating sensory discomfort before the day had even really begun.

Both of my girls insisted I walk with them to each event, which meant they missed quite a few activities along the way. Miss 8 has never liked people watching her and will often opt out of events altogether. Miss 5 does not usually experience the same level of anxiety, though she naturally follows her big sister’s lead at times.

Then came the fire alarm.

Everyone had to evacuate onto the oval and for a moment I could not find my middle daughter. When I finally spotted her, she was sobbing. My child who usually avoids hugs ran straight into my arms and said, “I want to go home.”

So we did.

On the drive home I said, “You know what? You don’t have to go to Sports Day next year.” She nodded through tears. I asked, “You really don’t like it, do you?” and she quietly shook her head.

Then Miss 5 piped up from the back seat with, “I don’t like it either.”

And honestly, that is okay.

Not every child enjoys big, loud, highly social and competitive events. Not every child experiences these days as “fun.” Sometimes the bravest thing a child can do is simply show up, try for a little while, and tell us when they have had enough.

Maybe the goal should not always be participation at all costs. Maybe sometimes the goal is helping children feel safe, understood and supported enough to know they can leave when it all becomes too much.

At A Mind of Your Own, we spend a lot of time supporting families to understand what behaviour is communicating beneath the surface. We help parents advocate for accommodations, build supportive environments, navigate school challenges and develop strategies that work with a child’s nervous system rather than against it. Sometimes support looks like helping a child participate. Sometimes it looks like helping them step away safely before overwhelm turns into distress. Both are valid.

There is no one “right” way to be a child, and success does not always look like staying until the end of Sports Day.