How to Make Holidays Kid Friendly

We are reminded, every year at this time, how difficult holidays can be for people who are lonely or alone. But let’s be honest: even for families rich in children, holidays can be stressful—both for parents and kids.

Why are holidays so fraught? Because expectations are heightened, and holidays can feel like a test of how happy and successful your family is. And if you have children with psychiatric or learning disorders, even favorite traditions can turn into a test of stamina and patience. Here are some tips to help minimize stress and make the holidays more fun and fulfilling.

1. Be open to change.

Talk with your kids about your traditions — which ones they love and which you might evolve to make them more fun or memorable for everyone. This is especially important when family dynamics have changed because of divorce, a new marriage or sibling, or a death in the family.

2. Be realistic.

Factoring in kids’ limitations when you make plans will reduce stress on everyone. Kids who are anxious about meeting new people — or even encountering the extended family — will need support and realistic expectations. Kids who have trouble with organization will need help to succeed at gift-giving. Children who tend to be impulsive need structure to minimize disruptive behavior. Not overestimating your kids’ patience and ability to focus will help you enjoy yourself more, too.

3. Prep kids for changes in routine.

Holidays represent a change in a family’s normal schedule, and for some kids that’s unsettling. Preparing them for changes in their routines — what to expect and what you expect of them—will help head off meltdowns. If you’re traveling, bring familiar toys and books, and make sure you have quiet one-on-one time like reading before bed.

4. Give yourself a break.

Don’t stretch yourself too thin trying to create the “perfect” holiday season. Decide what is important, prioritize, and say “no” to what you can’t handle.

5. Be sure to laugh.

Kids pick up their parents’ stress and tension, so they’re more likely to be irritable if you are. Have a sense of humor, enjoy your kids for who they are, and keep in mind that what you’ll all remember when it’s over is likely to be the unexpected moment when everybody was relaxed, not the brilliantly choreographed party, dinner, or outing.

Taken from https://childmind.org/article/how-to-take-the-stress-out-of-the-holidays/

1. Brain Building – Dress-up engages your child’s brain and memory. Dramatic play requires kids to remember what they’ve seen or heard. They remember how their parents behave when performing household chores when they are imitating them. Or they recall the details of a fairy tale they’ve heard before acting it out.

2. Vocabulary Building – Dress-up play builds vocabulary as a child decides what his or her character would say. It gives them a chance to expand their vocabularies with words and phrases that they might have heard in stories, but wouldn’t ordinarily use. Children may then begin to use these new words in conversations.

3. Problem-Solving – Who’s going to be the doctor? Who’s going to be the patient? Children must make decisions when they engage in dress-up play. They practice problem-solving problems when deciding on what costume elements and props each character needs to act out a scenario.

4. Empathy – When a child is engaged in role-play, it helps her see the world through another’s eyes which increases empathy – whether pretending to be a parent nurturing a baby, a doctor taking care of an injured patient, or a firefighter putting out a fire. Dramatic play helps children understand the role that helpers play in our lives.

5. Emotional Development – Children are constantly confronted with scary situations that they don’t understand – whether witnessing an accident in real life or seeing violent images on TV. Children process their fears through play, which helps them make sense of the world, and overcome their feelings of helplessness. By allowing children to act out their fears through dress-up and role playing, we are helping their emotional development.

6. Motor Skills – Children develop fine motor skills by putting on dress-up clothes, whether buttoning a shirt, zipping up pants, or tying on a pirate’s bandana. They use their large motor skills when engaged in role-play, whether they are jumping like a superhero, running like a baseball player, or twirling like a ballerina.

7. Gender Exploration – When children choose costumes and characters to be, they are able to explore different gender identities and the behaviors of those characters. It is normal for children to want to act out roles that are traditionally associated with the opposite gender.  A boy can be the/ one who takes care of the home and chores, such as cooking dinner, and a girl can be the one who is the police officer or firefighter.

8. Imitation – Children are naturally imitative creatures. They learn about the world by imitating the lives of the adults and others around them. Through dress-up and dramatic role-play, children explore the lives of other people by imitating their actions, feelings and words.

9. Socialization – Dress-up play encourages cooperation and taking turns. Children learn how to negotiate as they agree on stories and rules. They develop interest in others and learn how to give-and-take.

10. Imagination – Children’s imaginations are limitless, and have not yet been hardened and constrained by the “realities” of the world. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, believed that imaginative play in early childhood is the key to creative thinking during the adult years. When children engage in dress-up play, their imaginations are given free reign. There is no limit to who, where, or what they can be.

GUSS the Bus is getting ready to roll, bringing Smart Start to your neighborhood! Mobile Preschool is free to Hoke County residents ages 3-5. For more information call 910-904-5452, ext. 115  #hokesmartstart #hokechildren #hokecounty #mobilepreschool Application for 2023-2024

When scary or violent things happen in the world, whether thousands of miles away, in your state, your town, or your home, children look to the adults that surround them to help them feel safe and understand what is happening. This can feel tricky and challenging, particularly when the adults are also responding to and making sense of the same experience. Safe and supportive adults are the best predictor of resilience in youth. These resources offer guidance to help you talk with children and youth after something scary or violent happens.

Talking With Children: When Scary Things Happen (En Espanol)

Helping Young Children With Traumatic Grief (En Espanol)

There’s nothing better than have fun in the sun by spashing in some water. You don’t need a fancy pool or special equipment, just kids and water! So slather on some sunscreen, and go get wet!

• Paint with water. Grab some real house paintbrushes and rollers and go to town painting the sidewalk!
• Make garden soup with some friends. Happy Hooligans had the kids pick their own flowers before getting started on the “soup”.
• Recycle old glue bottles as water squirters. This idea from Playdough to Plato has toddlers working on their fine motor skills while beating the heat.
• Add colorful ice to water, like Fun-A-Day. Watch as the ice melts into the rest of the water, the colors mixing to create new colors.
• Water the flowers and yard. If you have a way to collect rainwater for this activity, do it! Just remember to dump the water when you’re finished, because standing water will attract mosquitos, and no one wants that!
• Make sponge bombs! Cut clean sponges into strips, gather a bunch of them together in a star shape using a rubber band, and have fun bombing floating items in a kiddie pool or tub of water. Be prepared, this one gets really splashy!

‘All children need to see themselves and their peers in the stories shared and discussed at school. Kids of color need diverse books because so often they do not see themselves in literature, and therefore feel marginalized, even invisible. White kids need diverse books because they see too much of themselves in literature and this may lead them to feel that they are the center of the world.” –  The Collaborative Classroom

We’ve recently added books that speak to the beautiful diversity of our community to our resource library.  Take a moment to come in and review these wonderfully written and illustrated books.

For your small children, the world is a fascinating and wonderful place.

“Intentionally curating your outdoor environment with children in mind creates wondrous opportunities for creative outdoor free play. Fortunately, you need neither a green thumb nor an artist’s beret to be a curator of outdoor environments; you need only the willingness to try something new.”

Read more at Community Playthings Blog.