The holidays are meant to be a time for family, fun, and celebration, but they can also be a source of stress. While children don’t have the same holiday challenges as adults, they are impacted by the change in routine and can pick up on any stressful situations in their environment. Busy schedules, traveling, and spending time with extended family can make kids and adults anxious.
Put yourself in your little one’s shoes. Remember what it was like engaging with family members that you may rarely see, having so much attention paid to how much you’ve grown or what you’ve achieved in the last year, and the challenge of keeping a smile on your face when receiving an itchy sweater. As we enter another holiday season, try these tips for keeping the festivities fun while managing childhood stress.
1) Manage Your Own Stress
Kids pick up on much more than we realize. If you’re stressed out, your kid(s) probably feel it. As adults, taking care of ourselves is one of the best ways to make sure we’re capable of giving children what they need. Get enough sleep and carve out some personal time to make sure you’re at your best.
2) Maintain Routines as Much as Possible
Establishing and maintaining routines is one of the most effective ways to avoid temper tantrums and bad days all year round. By contrast, kids tend to get a little cranky when routines get broken. It’s almost impossible to avoid breaking routine during the holidays, but try to keep things steady as much as possible. Stick as closely as possible to your child’s ordinary sleep schedule. Aside from special occasions like New Year’s Eve, try to get kids in bed within an hour of their usual bedtime during holiday breaks, likewise, for wake-up calls, snacks, naps, and mealtimes.
3) Be Mindful of Snacks
Countertops swell with treats during the holiday season, and there’s a tendency for kids (and adults) to gobble up more cookies, cakes, pies, and other treats, both sweet and savory. As fun as it might sound, too many treats can result in sour tummies and upset kiddos. Make sure your little ones are still getting good nutrition during the holidays, and don’t overdo it on the sweets.
4) Manage Expectations
Children sometimes get wild ideas about the gifts they might receive or the places they might visit during the holidays, only to be disappointed if those expectations aren’t met. Have open discussions as a family about what to expect and how your family will spend the holidays.
5) Minimize Screen Time
Keeping screens at bay during the holidays can be a challenge! Older kids are out of school with the entire day to fill. Kids inevitably gravitate toward televisions, computers, tablets, and smartphones. Some screen time is probably nothing to worry about, but kids shouldn’t spend all day scrolling. Try to make screen time family time by playing games or watching movies together. Better yet, turn the screens off and get outside to build a snow fort, go sledding, or enjoy the crisp winter air. Not only will it help you make lasting memories, but exercise reduces stress!
6) Spend Time Together
Whether they want us to know it or not, our kids like spending time with their parents, and holiday breaks are the perfect opportunity for bonding. Make decorations, wrap presents together, or visit a park or museum. Bake cookies, read a favored book, or flip through catalogs for last-minute gift ideas. Take a moment to remember that between all of the hectic demands of the season, the real point is spending time with the people we love. What you do doesn’t really matter, as long as you do it together!
7) Create a New Tradition Together
Find something you and your child enjoy and build a holiday tradition around it. You may like making a certain type of cookie or shopping and wrapping gifts together. Perhaps it’s decorating the house or delivering gifts to neighbors. It could be as simple as driving through the neighborhood to look at the lights or sharing a cup of cocoa and talking. Find opportunities for connection and create moments of calm amidst everything else happening.
8) Advocate for Your Child
Young children may not feel comfortable advocating for themselves around other adults, including extended family. Holiday celebrations bring various expectations about family affection, participation in activities, talent shows, and other long-lasting family traditions that may look different than what you would do at your house. Set and maintain boundaries for your child and hold the line on their behalf. Talk about traditions, planned activities, limitations, and other holiday expectations. It’s possible your child is anxious about a particular activity or event, and you could help calm them.
Be mindful of recent life changes, including but not limited to divorce, a new sibling, moving to a new house, or a death in the family. Those are complex life events at any time of year, but they have a way of hitting harder during the holidays. Keep the lines of communication open with your children throughout the holidays, embrace the festive moments, and build happy holiday memories together!
