Holiday Survival Tips For Children

This time of year can be so exciting and fun-a time to share with family and enjoy building wonderful memories.  For children, their schedule and consistency is important so the holidays can be a stressful time of year if there are too many activities happening.  Keep in mind your child's tolerance level for handling a disruption in their routine.  The pressure to do more and have more is a cultural pressure that you have to measure as a family.  More is often times not better when it comes to kids.  First, if your child typically takes a nap or has a rest time at a certain time of day, try to schedule your activities to allow for the rest time to still take place.  Second, if you know your child's meals will be full of a lot of extra sugar and food they don't normally eat, make sure they have a healthy breakfast and bring along healthy snacks to help balance all the yummy goodies at this time of year.  Also, be respectful of your child's needs in terms of opening gifts.  Many times we can feel obligated for our children to be excited about a gift that someone is giving.  But, sometimes kids open one thing and really want to just play with that toy and aren't interested in anything else.  You can maybe just set the additional gifts aside and wait for your child to be ready.  Another good tip for surviving the holidays is spending at least a little bit of time outdoors.  Bundling up and taking a quick hike or driving to a park and playing is a great way to get fresh air and get away from all the celebrating.  Many children like to know what is happening when their schedule is different then normal.  Sitting down with your child and letting them know the schedule of their day can help them be prepared for things that are different than normal.  Another way to balance out activities is having people to your house where your child is most comfortable and can be in their space while all the celebrating is happening.  This is such a wonderful time of year full of beauty, family time and fun!  Help your child enjoy the season while keeping in mind their needs as well.  Merry Christmas!