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Holiday Stress? Get Your Family Through in a Breeze
POSITIVE PARENTING Holiday Stress? Get Your Family Through in a Breeze By Molly Brousseau
The holidays are here and that brings happiness, cheer, and increased family stress. This year in particular may be extra hard on families as they plan their socially distant holiday parties and buying gifts on a tight budget. Here are a few tips on how to skate through this holiday season without losing the little sanity we may have left!
First, get rid of expectations and try to relax. Children mimic the behaviors and the attitudes of their parents, so modeling to your children how we handle stressful situations is particularly important during these times. Psychology Today mentions creating “happy moments” to help prevent the increase in negative behaviors. This can be done by simply spending 5 minutes of “special time” with your child, doing something they love, and giving lots of positive attention.
Make sure to talk to your children about new rules or changes in their normal routine before they encounter new situations. Open conversations help ease transitions and reduce stress for the whole family. It is important to be flexible, especially during these uncertain times, things change, so make sure to have a plan B. Take the focus off of gift-giving. Now is a great time to teach your children the importance of giving gifts during the holidays. Whether it’s making something for a children’s hospital, or writing cards for the elderly, many organizations are available to help give to the less fortunate during the holiday season.
Handmade gifts are a great alternative to storebought and can also be a great teaching tool. Having a child think up and plan a gift helps with creativity and imagination. Taking your child to the craft store and letting them pick out the materials gives them their own sense of independence. Great ideas for homemade gifts include hand-painted tote bags, oven mitts, or decorated picture frames with a family picture inside.
Baking around the holidays is another great way to bring the family together and can also double as a fun and easy gift. Start a new tradition of baking cookies or creating hot cocoa kits to give to loved ones or service providers (our amazon workers need treats too��).
Managing stress during the holidays can be a difficult task but remember to take a deep breath and be grateful for the time spent with our family and loved ones. ■ Molly Brousseau a first time mom and an educator with over 14 years of experience working with young children. She graduated from FIU with her bachelors in Elementary Education and has worked teaching children from preschool to elementary levels. She received her director’s credential and also a National Administrators Certificate and has been directing preschool for the last five years. She is currently the director at Tiny Planet Preschool and has been since they opened five years ago.
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