If you ask a child about their favorite month of the year, you almost invariably get the same answer: "December!" And if you ask why? "Presents, Sinterklaas, Christmas, fireworks, coziness, and delicious food. Lots of delicious food: gingerbread cookies, speculaas, candies, chocolate letters, and oliebollen!" Is carefree enjoyment still possible for you as a parent?
December is, of course, a fun month, but all those enjoyable days filled with sweets and treats also bring a lot of tension, with accompanying angry outbursts, sleepless nights, and children bouncing through your house, followed by a sugar crash.
And if you have a child who is extra sensitive to all those stimuli, as a parent, you have a tough job keeping everything under control. That requires flexibility, attention, and a lot of patience. Do you want to enjoy the holidays carefree and offer your kids the best? We're sharing 5 tips in this blog!
5 tips for carefree enjoyment during the holidays
1. Ensure a good balance between nutrition (80%) and filler (20%)
A few gingerbread cookies, a piece of chocolate letter, or an oliebol in due time can't hurt as long as your child gets the right nutrients they desperately need to develop and maintain a clear and relaxed brain.
The more sweets you consume, the more fluctuations in your blood sugar level. The result? Even more cravings for treats and sweets. It's therefore better to alternate with healthy alternatives for both yourself and your children and continue to cook healthily as much as possible on the days between the holidays and use your supplements, including those for your kids!
Extra tip: check if a meal or snack contains carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats. This ensures, among other things, that you feel full longer and helps counteract fluctuations in your blood sugar level.
You can read more tips on how to keep your blood sugar level stable here.
2. Help your child relax
Is your child very tense? See if you can help your child by incorporating moments of rest, relaxation, and exercise. Look together with your child at what they enjoy and what helps them. What can also help enormously is a countdown calendar, so your child knows exactly what is happening when and what to expect.
3. Don't expect a child who struggles with sitting still to stay at the table for a long time.
Give the child space to do something else, read a book, draw, retreat to their room, play a game, give your child a task that allows them to walk around, etc. For your child too, the holidays should be about carefree enjoyment.
4. Keep communicating with your child.
How does your child feel? Happy, angry, scared, or sad? See if you can figure out together what can help your child. You can use a traffic light or emotion thermometer for this, where your child can indicate how they feel. A journal for children can also help.
5. Don't forget yourself!
As a parent, it's so important that you continue to feel good and energetic. This way, you can enjoy yourself carefree and be there for your child and their stimuli. After all, they don't say for nothing on an airplane that you should put on your own oxygen mask first before helping someone else. If you don't take good care of yourself, you can't take good care of others. So schedule time for yourself, do what makes you happy, what gives you energy, and put a heart in your agenda at that spot.
Extra tips
Finally, we'll share some additional tips that are beneficial for both you as a parent and easily overstimulated children:
- Use a diffuser with soothing essential oils such as lavender.
- Does your child have trouble with (loud) noises? Get headphones, possibly with noise cancellation.
- Take an (evening) walk together before bedtime.
- Do a (children's) meditation together.
- Replace busy Christmas music with soothing binaural beats occasionally.
