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For parents and carers

For parents

How to better understand the effect of a school’s sound environment on a child’s everyday functioning.

Children react differently to noise, reverberation and many simultaneous sounds. This section helps you observe everyday situations, talk with your child, and prepare for contact with the school.

First steps

Where to start?

Three simple steps that help you understand what happens to your child during the day - without judgement and without diagnosing.

Observe

Look out for situations where your child talks about noise, tiredness or trouble focusing, or needs quiet after coming home from school.

Talk

Ask about specific places and moments of the day rather than a general „is it loud at school?".

Write it down

If the situation repeats, a short note helps you spot patterns and speak to the school more calmly. The observation diary can help.

Reactions after school

The reaction often appears only after school

All day long a child adapts to their surroundings and follows instructions. Fatigue from too much sound only shows up in a calm, safe place.

Post-school fatigue usually only becomes visible at home.
At school

Conversations, bells, chairs scraping, sounds from the corridor. The child keeps working and usually does not show that it is hard.

After leaving school

They may be quiet, withdrawn and find it hard to answer questions. They rarely name the cause straight away.

At home

As the tension drops, irritability, tears, a need for quiet, or a strong reaction to ordinary household sounds appear.

At school: conversations, bells, chairs scraping, sounds from the corridor.

Why is the reaction delayed?

At school the child is focused on adapting to the situation. They feel the fatigue only in calmer surroundings - it is not deliberate behaviour or rudeness.

Observation and conversation

What is worth observing?

Examples of situations worth noticing in your child’s ordinary day.

  • The child says that certain places are too loud.
  • After school they need more quiet than usual.
  • They mention that it is hard to hear the teacher.
  • A particular type of lesson or a particular space is especially tiring.
  • They talk about noise during breaks, in the canteen or the after-school room.
  • They struggle to converse when several people speak at once.
  • They can point out places where they feel better or worse.

A single observation does not yet mean there is a problem. What matters is whether the situation repeats and under what conditions.

How to talk about sound?

Open questions give you more than questions that suggest the answer.

  • „Where at school is it loudest for you?"
  • „Are there moments when it is hard to hear what the teacher says?"
  • „Which sounds bother you the most?"
  • „What helps you when it gets too loud?"
  • „Is there a place at school where it is easier to rest?"

Do not suggest the answer

Instead of: „Does the noise in the canteen tire you a lot?"

Better: „How do you feel in the canteen when there are lots of people?"

Observation test

How does noise affect your child?

First a few questions about your observations, then a short conversation with your child.

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Find out how your child copes with noise at school.

The test has two parts: the parent’s observations and a conversation with the child. It is for information only and is not a medical or psychological diagnosis.

Why take it?

  • It helps organise your everyday observations.
  • It makes talking to your child easier.
  • It suggests whether it is worth talking to the school.

The whole thing takes only a few minutes.

Read the question to your child and mark the answer they choose.

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Part 1 of 2 complete

Now invite your child to talk

Six short questions to go. Read them to your child and mark the answers they choose themselves.

Complete the second part to see your joint result.

  1. 1.Read the question out loud.
  2. 2.Do not suggest the answer.
  3. 3.Give your child a moment to think.
Test complete

See your result and tailored guidance

Enter your email address to see a summary of the parent’s and child’s answers, plus the recommended next steps.

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We will use this address to show and send you the test summary. Full details are in the privacy policy.

This consent is voluntary and is not required to see your test result.

Once you submit the form, the result appears straight away on the page.

  • you will see the overall test result,
  • you will get guidance tailored to your answers,
  • you will find out whether it is worth talking to the school.
Indicative result

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What next?

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Your answers differ

A parent and a child can perceive the same situations differently. That is a starting point for a conversation, not a mistake.

  • Talk together about everyday situations at school.
  • Note which places your child finds hardest.
  • Do not treat a difference in answers as an error.

The test is informational and does not replace a consultation with a specialist.

We have also sent a summary of the result to the address you provided. Cannot see it? Check your Spam or Promotions folder.
Downloads

Teaching materials

Download the materials prepared for parents, carers and children.

All the materials are print-ready.

For parents and carers

  • Noise and a child’s wellbeing

    How too much sound affects concentration and fatigue.

    Guide for parents PDF Coming soon

  • Observation diary

    A form for recording the places and times of day that are hard for your child.

    Supporting material PDF Coming soon

  • How to prepare for a conversation with the school

    A list of questions for the form teacher, the counsellor and the head.

    Checklist PDF Download

  • The first minutes after coming home from school

    A simple plan for a calm return after a loud day.

    Guidance for parents PDF Coming soon

For children

  • What can I do when it is too loud?

    A poster with ways to respond to too much sound.

    Educational poster PDF Download

  • Noise Fighters colouring sheet

    A colouring sheet with the characters from the education programme.

    Material for children PDF Download

  • My emotions and sounds

    A card that helps identify pleasant and tiring sounds.

    Conversation card PDF Download

  • Maze: Join Hush Hero

    A maze task: find your way from the noisy corridor to Hush Hero and settle down inside his dome of quiet.

    A game for children PDF Download

The PDFs will be published once the Institute approves each edition.

A meeting with the form teacher - a conversation about the class’s working conditions.
It helps to come with specifics: dates, times and notes.
Talking to the school

A parent does not have to solve this alone

If the signals intensify on school days, talk to the form teacher or the school counsellor - not as a complaint, but as a conversation about the whole class’s working conditions.

Ask about four things:

  • After which lessons and on which days the child signals overload.
  • Whether there is a quiet place to retreat to during break.
  • What the room’s acoustics are like - panels, a rug, felt pads under the furniture.
  • Whether the school has ever measured noise levels in the rooms and corridors.
Support at home

How to support a child after an overwhelming day

After a hard day a child is not always ready to talk. First reduce further stimulation and give them a moment of calm.

A parent simply being there, without questions, helps more than talking straight away.

Reduce further sound

Turn off the television, music and loud notifications. Close the doors to rooms where conversations are going on.

Give them a moment without questions

Do not expect an immediate account of the school day. A quarter of an hour of calm lowers the tension.

Offer a simple rest

Water, a change of clothes, a blanket, dimmed light, a short walk or another quiet activity of the child’s choosing.

Talk only later

Once the child has calmed down, ask something specific: „Where was it loudest today?" or „Which moment was the most tiring?"

What is better avoided?

  • asking lots of questions straight away,
  • forcing a conversation and raising your voice,
  • saying „you are exaggerating" or „nothing happened",
  • treating the need for quiet as rudeness,
  • using the quiet place as a punishment.

The first minutes after coming home: putting the backpack down, changing clothes, water and a few minutes without questions. A fixed order eases the move from school noise into the calm of home.

See the materials for parents →
Knowledge and research

Knowledge for parents

Studies from the „Knowledge and research" library that are useful to parents - on attention, listening in noise and children’s wellbeing.

See all publications →

Noise does not always mean the same thing

The sentence „it is loud" can describe very different situations. Telling them apart makes conversations with your child and the school easier.

  • a high sound level,
  • many conversations happening at once,
  • reverberation, i.e. sound that lingers in the room,
  • difficulty understanding speech despite moderate loudness,
  • a particular place or a particular time of day,
  • the child’s individual reaction to a given environment.
The Institute’s education programme

Noise Fighters

An IKE education programme that helps children get to know their sound environment and talk about situations where sound becomes a burden.

  • Noise Fighters colouring sheet - a material for the child with the programme’s characters. See →
  • What can I do when it is too loud? - a poster with ways to respond. See →
  • Maze: Escape the Noisors - the route from the noisy corridor to Hush Hero. See →
Meet the Noise Fighters →
Further support

When is it worth seeking further advice?

If the signals persist for several weeks, intensify, or interfere with your child’s functioning - a consultation is worth considering.

Talking to a specialist does not mean something is wrong. It organises your observations and helps rule out other causes.

Who to turn to
  • School psychologistKnows the class context and the child’s everyday functioning.
  • School counsellorAgrees the actions on the school’s side and mediates the conversation.
  • PaediatricianAssesses health and refers for further diagnostics.
  • Audiologist or ENT specialistHearing and auditory processing assessment.
  • Sensory integration therapistAssessment of sensory processing and a choice of exercises.

A consultation at a public psychological and educational counselling centre is free and needs no referral.

Contact

If you have a question about the Institute’s materials, a school’s sound environment, or preparing for a conversation with the school - write to us.

Go to contact →

Photographs marked with the AI symbol were generated using artificial intelligence.