Surviving the Holidays

The holidays can be stressful for anyone, but this is especially true for kids who are dealing with mental health issues, ADHD, or are simply sensitive to changes in routine.  With some planning, we can help our kids (and ourselves) enjoy a less-stressful holiday season.

Thanks to Parents for Children's Mental Health for sharing this fantastic tipsheet for families. 

Enjoy!

Rhonda

Parents for Children's Mental Health

Surviving the Holidays

admin@pcmh.ca

 

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.