Today’s article will be devoted to holidays and other celebrations and how they affect a child’s functioning. It turns out that something that is a pleasure from our perspective and should bring joy to a child, does not necessarily have to be that way. It turns out that children can often react to such situations. Then there is a lot of tearfulness, difficulty falling asleep or severe fatigue, which is difficult for parents to understand.
When can we conclude that a child has too many sensations and is overloaded with the amount of stimuli reaching him? It turns out that there are quite a few signals that tell us that something disturbing is happening. These include:
- reluctance to continue playing, giving up some fun, going aside;
- difficulties with making eye contact or deliberately avoiding looking at people in the immediate vicinity of the child – sometimes children may even get irritated that someone is looking at them;
- trying to cut off the stimuli, e.g. by covering the eyes or ears, blocking the nose, covering the face;
- strong rebellion related to refusing to cooperate and denying all ideas that the parent proposes;
- the appearance of severe fatigue or excessive, unjustified fear or anxiety;
- whining, aversion to everything, complaining and crying that may not appear adequately to the situation;
- waking up at night screaming;
- difficulties with calming down / calming down.
Of course, you can counteract this, but it is crucial that parents or grandparents follow certain golden rules:
- The amount of decorations and auditory stimuli should be kept to a minimum – it’s a good idea to switch off the TV.
- The use of warm-colored lights (e.g. cream) will have a supportive and calming effect, and white, blue (cold colors) will intensify the stimulation of the nervous system.
- It is essential to give your child enough exercise, both indoors and outdoors.Ø It is also ideal to create a calming corner, e.g. a tent or a base where the child could rest from the excess stimuli.
- Minimizing the need to spend time at the table.
- Providing a comfortable, not embarrassing outfit.
- Limiting the consumption of sweets and sweetened / carbonated /
However, the main thing is not to force the child to do anything. Not everyone likes to greet each other affectionately with their aunts or grandparents. Not every child eats a lot during the holidays. Compulsion causes frustration and discouragement. It can contribute to the emergence of many difficult behaviors.
Holidays are a time of joy and children don’t have to be perfect at this time !!!