Holiday Destressing for the Whole Family!

It doesn’t take a professional to state that the holiday season can be stressful. In the name of celebrating, our schedules get booked with parties, our gift list grows, we’re traveling and we may be spending more intense time with our families than usual.  Children get holiday stress, too!

For starters, even infants detect our moods, including stress. They know something is awry, just by our energy.  When they can tell something is going on with the grown-ups, they often internalize a feeling of stress, even if they don’t know why. 

Children are also experiencing a different schedule during the holidays. Some kids are more sensitive to changes in routine than others, but they are all affected by the variations. Perhaps they are travelling, they are on winter break, attending parties or staying home with babysitters while their parents are at celebrations.

Additionally, there may be some challenges for children who have lost a family member, if a family member is deployed or if the family has gone through divorce, separation or remarriage.  This may also be a tough time for children who are adopted. 

 Here are a few ideas to help de-stress the holidays-

1)   Give your child as much as a predictable schedule as possible.

2)   Acknowledge their feelings, such as “It’s going to be different without grandpa at dinner this year.” Then listen to what they have to say.

3)   Say no. You don’t have to overexert yourself or your children to make it to every party or bake the perfect cookies for all 40 people in your office. Just say no.

4)   Try to stick with traditions and maybe start new traditions if there is a new configuration of the family.

5)   Keep to routine as much as possible. Just because the family is at a holiday party or out of town does not mean the kids should have permission to eat their weight in chocolate-walnut fudge (although I don’t blame them for wanting to) or stay up until midnight.

6)   Don’t expect your child to be able to keep up with being ‘on’ the entire holiday. They may need breaks from playing with relatives and just some space and quiet time (just like adults need).

7)   Take some time to focus on just tuning into your child and doing an activity with them. At the end of the day, your child wants time with you. That’s right, even more than your child wants the next Xbox360/Razor Scooter/Barbie Dream House!

 Guess what? These tips apply to parents, too! So take care of yourself and happy holidays!