Supporting your Anxious Child During the Holiday Season
While the holidays might be the most wonderful time of the year for some, for anxious children, it can quickly turn into the most dreadful. Extended school breaks, frequent visitors, and travel can lead to increased stress and behavioral issues among children who already struggle with anxiety. In this blog post, we will discuss why the holiday season can exacerbate a child’s anxiety, and how parents can help their child through this busy season.
What Causes Holiday Anxiety?
So what exactly is it about the holidays that increases children’s anxiety? To start, the holiday season can often be a time of newness, uncertainty, and unpredictability. This is almost always a recipe for increased anxiety among those who experience it. For example, changes in routine due to school breaks, late bedtime, travel, or visitors may disrupt a child;s usual patterns. Along with that, seeing relatives or friends they aren’t well acquainted with may feel socially overwhelming. These feelings — coupled with the fact that overstimulation due to music, lights, decoration, and noise often make up holiday gatherings — can cause significant anxiety that persists through the entirety of the holiday season.
Helping your Child Manage Their Anxiety
Not only can holiday anxiety be emotionally distressing, it could lead to unusual behavior such as more frequent fights between siblings, frequent crying, or sleep troubles. Therefore, it is critical that you are tuned in to your child’s needs in order to help them emotionally regulate and enjoy the season with reasonable expectations. This could involve:
- Maintaining as normal a schedule as possible
When possible, keeping a regular bedtime, mealtimes, and playtime can help a child who relies on a schedule feel more settled. Building in calm activities throughout the day such as reading time, outdoor activities, or a robust bedtime ritual can ease anxiety when schedules are up in the air.
- Sharing Plans in Advance
Keeping your child informed about what time events are, who will be there, and the nature of the gathering can ease social anxiety, especially if you are frequently visiting different groups of people.
- Taking Breaks from socializing
Talk with your child before crowded or overstimulating events and remind them it is okay to step away and take breaks during large parties. This could involve a short walk with you and someone they feel comfortable with or even spending quiet time in a secluded area away from other guests.
- Scheduling downtime between events
Especially if your schedule is packed, making sure you have downtime as a family between events can help a child relax and recharge their social battery. It also provides you with the opportunity to check in with them about what felt easy or difficult during the most recent gathering.
- Setting Reasonable Expectations
Some children may feel overwhelmed or anxious by the holiday season not meeting their expectations. Movies, ads, and even music tell us that this season is supposed to be picture-perfect, and when that falls short, an anxious child may feel upset or that they are not making usual family traditions run smoothly. Setting expectations that emphasize the importance of joy and quality time over perfection and extravagant gifts is one small way that you can take the pressure of your child.
How New Perspective Counseling can Help
The holiday season– and everyday life– doesn’t have to be filled with anxiety. Persistent anxiety can be stressful, frightening, and even paralyzing. Especially in children and teens, anxiety can lead to social withdrawal and irritability or acting out behaviors. If your child has lived with anxiety for an extended period of time, it can be hard to remember what it was like to live without it. Thankfully, with the help of an experienced child therapist that specializes in anxiety, they can develop strategies to gain back control and live a life free from debilitating anxiety. Schedule an appointment with one of our licensed therapists today.
