It's easier for adults to identify with Monday blues, but it was no less of a struggle for his parents when a 5-year-old child in our program refused to go to school every Monday morning.
Instead of a power struggle, we encouraged the parents to first show empathy by repeating the child's feeling of not wanting to go to school. Once the child calmed down, the parents proceeded to ask questions behind the child's thoughts. It turned out the child was tired on Mondays because the family had a different schedule on Sundays.
For the child, we encouraged him to express his feeling of being tired, and acknowledged that it was normal for him to feel tired on Mondays because of the different schedule on Sundays. Yet, we challenged the child to still enjoy the day and have fun at school despite being tired. As a positive example, the father shared that he also felt tired on Mondays, but he still went to work and made the most out of the day.
After two months, the child no longer complained about going to school on Mondays. Both the father and the child felt relieved about the power struggle going away, and they also felt closer together because they identified with each other's feelings.