You may have laughed out loud when you read the title of this blog but I bet it wasn’t because the idea was out totally of the park! How many of you secretly parent a child who is otherwise perfectly well mannered until the dreaded Christmas season rears its ugly head?
“I want this!
“I better get that!”
“But you said Santa would give it to me!”
photo credit via http://702mag.com/
Sound familiar?
I don’t know what happens but many kids suffer this incredible personality change when Christmas closes in and many of us have a hard time figuring out why this occurs?
We use Santa as bait for good behavior, but even the guy in the red suit is no match for the whiles of overly excited, out of control little pills.
Perhaps the “Twinkie Defense” (or in this case the “Candy Cane Defense”) is responsible since their intake of sugar extends well past what their small bodies can manage? Or could it be the continuous visions we load their tiny minds with through holiday media of movies and books? Are characters such as Ebenezer Scrooge impacting their little minds with thoughts of selfishness, annoyance and naughty behavior?
According to specialists, the “Christmas Crank for Children” diagnosis stems from an increase of stimulation, decreased amount of sleep and an influx of in-nutritious foods. One of these off kilter may not seem like such a big deal but when you combine all three-SHAZZAM! You’ve got yourself one unhappy, inflexible hooligan of a kid.
That kind of stinks, right?
After all, this season is made merry and bright by a child’s faith in holiday magic. Their inherent ability “to believe” is what makes the whole thing fun and memorable for all of us who will do anything to see smiling faces on Christmas Day.
Is there anything we can do to prevent this negative metamorphous from occurring?
Of course there is!
While we can’t compete with the impact of Christmas Crazy, we can attempt to manage certain areas of their care, which will benefit their health (most specifically their mood) during the holidays.
- Mandate a reasonable time for bed and just say no to “Can I have ten more minutes, pleeeaaaasssseee?”
- Make sure they are drinking lots and lots of water to wash their systems out from built up sugar. You’re not going to get them to avoid all of the Christmas sweets but you can help to keep them hydrated.
- Lower their expectations of what they are going to “get” and ask them what they are going to “give”. Not up scaling previous holiday shopping is one way to keep things under control and to evade some of the unwarranted “gimmees”.
- While there are lots of invitations to get-togethers and parties, your child may not be able to attend all of them. Seasonal burn-out is typical with younger children who really need a grounded schedule to go by. While agreeing to a few dates is perfectly fine, having your family booked out every day of the Christmas month is going to undoubtedly overwhelm and exhaust them.
- Switch up their books and DVD’s with some topics that are not holiday related. Keep the Christmas classics that you love and add material other than stuff solely wrapped around trees, wreaths and Santa. It will help keep things in perspective and allow an easier transition when it’s time to get back to their regular routines.