October and the light. What the change does to children's mood.

In Vienna, October arrives with a specific quality of light: lower angle, shorter duration, different colour. The children in my clinic in October are different from the children in September. Not dramatically different — I am not describing clinical depression — but measurably more fatigable, more emotionally reactive, slower to recover from frustration. The light is doing something.

In Vienna, October arrives with a specific quality of light: lower angle, shorter duration, different colour. The children in my clinic in October are measurably more fatigable, more emotionally reactive, slower to recover from frustration. The light is doing something.

In Vienna, October arrives with a specific quality of light: lower angle, shorter duration, different colour. The children in my clinic are measurably more fatigable, more emotionally reactive, slower to recover from frustration. The light is doing something specific to their circadian systems. The child who was easy to manage in September may be harder to manage in October — not because anything changed in the family's practice, but because the light has changed. Not dramatically different — I am not describing clinical depression — but measurably more fatigable, more emotionally reactive. The October difficulty is biological, not behavioural. Understanding this changes how you respond to it.