Thanks to Parents for Children's Mental Health for sharing this fantastic tipsheet for families.
Enjoy!
Rhonda
Surviving the Holidays
Recognizing and accepting
it is going to be stressful
It seems no matter how many
years we have all experienced the holidays they still often seem to catch us
off guard and creep up on us much more quickly than we had anticipated. When
the holidays are upon us, we have to remember, it is going to add stress, we
can’t fight that, and in fact trying to fight it may actually produce more of
it. So prepare yourself for the fact that indeed we need to be proactive about
ways to handle it, not only for ourselves, but our children.
· Our children can sense are stress so Self-Care is VERY
important during the holiday season. Make
sure you are calm and as a free from stress as possible so your emotions are
not flowing over to your children.
· There are many more lights, much more sounds, and often
times more people when we go out. There
is a true “hustle and bustle”. Know this, and if your child is prone to
reacting to this, don’t expect them to be able to handle it more because it’s
the holidays…..if this is likely to trigger them, plan for it. Shorter shopping
trips, perhaps not bringing them when you know they may not handle it, plan for
frequent breaks in the shopping for drinks, or brief visits outside – this may
take longer, but it may be a more enjoyable experience if you work this into
your time.
· Ensure that wherever possible you avoid potential
triggers for your child.
· Recognize what your own triggers are that increase your
stress and be proactive about building in your own coping strategies and tools
so that you can remain calm when not only dealing with your children, but also
when modelling for them.
· Continue to be aware and continue to be proactive.
· Do things over the holidays that are special to your
child, even if it is not holiday related, create an anticipation about the
holidays that is positive.
· Even though routines are difficult throughout the
holidays, ensure wherever possible that sleep, and eat routines stay the same.
When routines are going to be different, prepare the child for that, discuss it
with them, let them know what will be different, ask them if there is anything you
can do that would help make it easier for them.
· Acknowledge and validate for them that this is an exciting
time and yet sometimes it is hard to manage for them. Let them know that is
okay
*The tips
included in this sheet are provided by families, and based on their personal
experiences. These are tools and strategies that have worked for families and
have been identified by families. They are not clinical or therapeutic
suggestions. If there are concerns about your child’s mental health throughout
the holiday season, or at any point, please seek immediate advice and counsel
from professionals in the child and youth mental health professional.
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