The One Thing You Can do as a Parent to Help Your Kids Refocus After the Holidays.

The period for Halloween to New Years can be busy and chaotic for students. There are parties and school dances, visiting family & friends, and a general disruption to the schedules. Parents can be over-committed, stressed financially, and tired. This can be particularly true if the parents do not live in the same house and the kids are shuffled from one home to the other. As a child growing up with divorced parents, it could be completely overwhelming at times.

So, as a parent, now that all of that is ending and there will be a return to normalcy for a few months, how can you help your kids refocus and calm after all the chaos? I have broken down tips for your based on your child’s age.

Toddlers to preschool:

For kids 6 and under, help them return to a routine. Their bodies need nutrition, rest, and play. Creating a routine–which includes time with you doing activities like reading a book or playing with their toys with them–will help return them to a familiar rhythm. Reducing junk food and focusing on healthy options, regular naps, and a regular bedtime can also be extremely helpful. These young children don’t understand the holidays the way we do, as an annual season. They may understand getting gifts and seeing family, but all they know is things are very busy. Until we show them, they don’t know that the chaos is not the new normal. 

Key takeaway-

• Re-establish routine and healthy eating

Elementary age children:

Much of what I said about the toddlers will move through all ages with mild variation, so elementary children need the time with you, the return to routine, the return to healthy eating, but this age group can also benefit from talking to them about how they enjoyed the holidays and what they are looking forward to returning to in going back to their normal schedule. It is okay to also think about what they miss about the holidays, but this sort of “debrief” time helps kids in the 6 years-12 years age range start to process their emotions and take ownership of shifting back after the routine change of the season.

Key takeaway-

• Re-establish routine and healthy eating 
• Guide them in debriefing the holidays and planning a return to normal life  

Middle school/Junior High - High School

As with the younger kids, we need to start to re-establish healthy eating, healthy bedtimes, a return to routine, but this age should start to think proactively about determining what routines they will continue and what they feel is a break from bad habits they’d like to leave out. Maybe they realized they were overcommitted and want to re-evaluate their involvement in things. At this age, yes, even some 6th and 7th graders, can start to be discerning in considering what positive/proactive habits they want to develop. Of course, if some of this is a complete lack of motivation or emphasis on leisure activities or hobbies, you can have input, but if they realized they were involved in too many social clubs or obligations, you can support them in focusing on more positive habits.

Key takeaway-

• Re-establish routine and healthy eating 
• Guide them in debriefing the holidays and planning a return to normal life 
• Evaluating time commitments and goals.

A special note for parents, teachers, and homeschooling parents-

Parents-

Take the time to model these same success habits in your own life. Share what you will do or change, particularly with older kids. Remember, our kids learn far more from what they see us do than what we tell them to do.

Teachers-

Consider how you can add these important skills to your classroom. While there may be considerations to the school calendar that make this difficult–particularly frequent closures due to bad weather in January and February–but can you do a warm-up activity the first week back that does this with your students. 

Homeschooling Mom-

I’m sure you’ve already read the first two suggestions and can see it coming. One thing you can do in your homeschool life is allow your kids to do these activities and apply the principles to their personal life and discuss changes in their academic routine. Also, as with everything else as a parent, model this behavior to your kids.

Parting Help:

I will be working on a series of videos going over these topics during the month of January because I have seen them work for students and families. I am trying to make them available to you in multiple ways to fit your needs and schedule. Make sure you’ve signed up for our newsletter, my Balanced Life Podcast, and that you are getting this blog delivered to you. I don’t upload often because your time is valuable and so is mine. I share when I find something that really makes a difference to helping students learn and making our life more balanced and enjoyable.