Technology anxiety is real amongst children and young people who face returning to the classroom after time spent in home learning during the lockdowns.

During this time, most children have been learning online or through an increased amount of screen time rather than face-to-face. For children with anxiety or worries about the problems in the world, this has often been less stressful than engaging in activities in the real world.

But what about when they return to face-to-face learning? And what is technology anxiety, anyway?

Fear of being separated from technology

Technology anxiety or digital anxiety can occur in a couple of different ways. It can be caused by separation from a digital device, or it can be caused by fear of technology.

In kids with technology anxiety, it occurs when they are separated from a favourite device.

Just as a stuffed toy or blanket might provide a sense of comfort and security for young children, digital devices can help an older child or young person feel secure.

But at what cost?

The negative effects of technology on mental health

According to the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, attachment to technology can lead to low levels of self-motivation, emotional intelligence, and empathy among young people. It is also a factor in ADHD, depression, and the inability to form stable friendships.

Mental health concerns in the digital age have only increased during a pandemic when children are spending far more time in front of screens than they have in the past, and hospitals in Canada have reported a 100% increase in mental health admissions for young people as a direct result of the pandemic.

Signs of technology addiction

Technology anxiety is often related to technology addiction and parents and carers can often spot the signs when they know what to look for:

· A lack of interest in other activities, even things the child used to enjoy in the past

· A single-minded focus that claims all of their attention when they are using their devices

· Tantrums, aggression, meltdowns or bad behaviour when unable to access their devices

· Constant discussion of screen time and things they have seen or done online

· Withdrawal symptoms including distress or anxiety that are relieved once they can again access their devices

Screen time and anxiety: Returning to the classroom may be a trigger

As lockdowns in some parts of the world begin to lift, children are facing anxiety over returning to the classroom and leaving behind the perceived safety of home and favourite devices.

So what can parents do to help their kids manage their technology-related anxiety during these transition times?

How to help reduce anxiety and screen time?

It’s important to note that changes you make need to be gradual rather than all at once. Gradual changes will help kids to adjust over time rather than sudden changes which may increase anxiety. Check out these tips for managing anxiety and reducing screen time.

1. Set boundaries

If you haven’t put boundaries in place, it’s a good time to set some. They could include daily screen time limits or no-go zones (such as the bedroom or bathroom) with digital devices.

2. Create a list of priorities

Make a hierarchy of priorities when it comes to screen time. These are things that must be done before screen time happens, such as chores or music practice.

3. Segment screen time into priorities

Set a limit on individual screen time in favour of communal screen time where other members of the family are interacting. Communal screen time takes priority over individual screen time.

4. Adjust the content rather than restricting usage

Rather than placing strict time limits on screen use, you can allow educational content to take priority over games or entertainment.

5. Replace screen time with together time

Children and even teens crave connection and togetherness, even if they won’t admit it. Find some fun things to do with your kids. Get outdoors and plant a garden together. Go for a walk or a swim or a visit to a park. Volunteer at a charity or get involved in a sport you’ve always wanted to try.

Kids will remember the meaningful things you did together, not the hours they spent on their screens, so don’t be afraid to persist if they grumble at first. Whatever you do, stick at it until it becomes a regular part of your routine and in time, kids won’t even notice that it has taken the place of time they used to spend on their devices.

6. Be ready to listen & quick to offer encouragement

Kids will often use screen time as an escape from the real world and also as a way to validate their self-worth. Games with awards and trophies are popular, as are endless selfies and “likes” on social channels. The reward centre of the brain is gratified by these things, but when they don’t work out, it can be devastating.

A listening ear and encouragement from someone in the real world are so important for grounding and validation. Be ready to listen without judgment and quick to offer encouragement and praise for jobs well done.

7. Model good habits yourself

Kids see what we do and follow our example. If you want your kids to spend time getting outside or getting fit, lead the way. If you want to spend more time interacting as a family at dinner time, turn off the TV or put your phone aside and ask everyone else to do the same. They are small things, but by showing a good example, you can help your kids to see the beneficial alternatives to screen time.

Small changes make a big difference for kids with technology anxiety

It’s the small things that make the biggest difference. By making small changes over time, you’ll help your kids to become less dependent on technology and more resilient in a world that demands we pay a lot of attention to technology.

School closures have been frustrating and tedious for parents during the Covid lockdowns. They can happen with very little warning, creating family chaos, problems with work and other normal life activities, and causing anxiety for kids who don’t know what to expect.

The dreaded announcement … What should you do?

No one wants to hear that their child’s school has been closed because of positive Covid cases, and any parent who’s heard the dreaded announcement will be familiar with the sinking feeling that accompanies it.

First of all … breathe! You can get through this.

The other important thing to remember is that while Covid is serious for older people, children usually fare better if they do catch it and might only have mild symptoms and recover quickly. Just think of the best outcome, take a deep breath, and turn your attention to what you can do to get through this.

Be a sleuth

OK, sometimes it feels as if you need a degree in sleuthing to get to the bottom of government rules for school closures and other lockdowns! They can be confusing and change from one day to the next.

Read through the following checklist of questions you need to find answers for.

· What are the rules for isolation?

· Do I need to isolate along with my child?

· Does the whole family need to stay at home?

· Can my partner still go to work?

· Do I need to cancel or rearrange my work?

· Do I need to contact others we have been with to let them know?

Decide how to tell your child

Lots of kids suffer from anxiety with sudden changes of plan, so if this happens to your child, you’re not alone!

The best approach is to remain calm and be aware of your own anxiety levels. Take some time out to centre yourself if you need to. Then talk to your child about how plans change sometimes and this week will be a little different to usual.

Use a visual weekly planner

If your child is young, you can use a visual weekly planner to explain that there’s been a change of plan. Explain that school will be from home for at least one day, maybe more, and create a new plan for the week.

In your visual planner, you can paste pictures of what’s going to happen on each day of the week. If you don’t know yet, that’s OK. We have a strategy for that (see below). For older children, you might prefer to write in your planner instead of using pictures.

So, for example, if your isolation period begins on a Monday, get your child to choose a picture of a home to put in the planner. Now when anxiety strikes, your child can look at the planner and know that Monday will be spent at home.

For the next day, place a picture of a question mark on the planner with blu-tack. This means that you don’t know yet whether school is on. If you still don’t have information for the following day, move the question mark to the next day. This will help your child to understand that you are waiting for the information that will tell you whether school is back on.

Once you have a return date for school, place a picture of a school (or your child’s school) in the appropriate square.

This is a great strategy for anxious kids who can look at the planner to remind themselves about what is happening next.

Plan to succeed at home

Home isolation can be very trying with everyone falling over each other or experiencing negative feelings about being cooped up in the house.

But it doesn’t have to become a disaster, especially for a child experiencing anxiety.

One of the best ways to help your child feel secure is to create a plan for each day. Predictability and structure help children feel safe when the world around them is full of uncertainty.

So you can use the same strategies above for a daily planner. For younger children, use a visual daily planner that you can stick pictures in. With older children, you might prefer to write in the daily activities.

Your new home routine doesn’t have to be complex, and you need to allow some flexibility or it will become too difficult to stick with. But you should include the “milestones” or big events of the day such as bedtime, waking up, meal times, or the start and finish of school. You choose what’s important in your family.

You can do your plan for the entire day, or you can divide it up into morning and afternoon – whatever works best.

Beware of too much screen time

Don’t worry, we’ve all done it! Screen time is a handy babysitter when you’re trying to work at home or even when you just want some peace.

But in the longer term, too much is harmful to kids’ wellbeing. It can make bedtimes more difficult and increase social anxiety, among other things.

So the best thing is to aim for a balanced routine that includes exercise, time outdoors if possible, and time spent doing interactive activities with other members of the family.

You can do this!

You’ve got this! As some of you who have already been through it know, this too shall pass. Nothing lasts forever, and it’s just a matter of doing the best you can until schools reopen and you can resume your normal life again.

You’re doing an amazing job of holding it together under difficult circumstances, so give yourself a pat on the back, take a deep breath, and make sure you’re caring for yourself, too. You’ve got this!

Growing a sustainable therapy business is a dream for some who would prefer going solo rather than work in a public health setting or a large team. But it can be a daunting thought to set out alone and be the only person responsible for the success or failure of your business.

Getting your entire business lined up perfectly is beyond the scope of this blog post, but one of the many important things to consider is how your clients will feel and respond to your approach to their treatment. While you can’t do anything if they don’t find you a good fit personally, you can create a welcoming environment for a good first impression. Check out the tips below for ways you can help them have a positive experience in their interactions with you.

1. Word of mouth matters

With the growth in review sites and social media, any business is exposed to public opinion whether they like it or not. This can be an excellent way of gaining new clients if your current ones are happy and recommend your business to others.

It has become essential for businesses to have some kind of social media presence as a way of interacting with potential or current clients. Engaging with people on social media is often the first step in gaining their trust or becoming their go-to source of information.

You don’t need to manage your social media yourself as this is time-consuming. Fortunately, you can outsource this task and save time while still maintaining an active social media presence.

2. Create a welcoming environment

First impressions really do count and when a client enters your premises for the first time, they will respond to the environment. Most therapy businesses have a reception or waiting area, and while clients are using it, they need to feel comfortable. Check:

• That the lighting is not harsh or distracting. Replace fluorescent globes with some other type (especially important if you are dealing with clients who might suffer from sensory issues or have autism)
• The seating – are the seats comfortable? Are they arranged in a way that offers privacy if others are in the waiting room?
• The flooring – is the flooring quiet? Is it pleasant to walk on? Noisy flooring can make clients with sensory issues uncomfortable.
• Is the waiting area space appealing in other ways? Is it visually calming and relaxing? Does it have windows that allow in outside light? Are you able to regulate the temperature to keep it comfortable?

3. Make client relationships a priority

It’s a cliché that the customer comes first, but it’s also true. This means that each person who works in your practice (even if it’s only you) needs to make your interactions with your clients a pleasant experience.

Most of the time, this only takes old-fashioned courtesy and customer service to ensure that your clients have a positive experience. There’s nothing like a happy customer for spreading the good news about how you’ve helped them, and it also goes a long way to creating loyal clients who return.

4. Buy the right equipment

A well-equipped therapy business is appealing to clients. Some will even choose businesses that offer certain types of equipment.

That said, you will still be constrained by financial necessity and storage space, so choosing the equipment that will offer the best value is a must. It might be nice to have all the latest gadgets, but it’s crucial to keep a level head and only choose what will best fit your clients’ needs, your budget, and your storage capacity.

5. Model what works

Take a look at other successful therapy practices and see if you can incorporate some of the same principles into your own business.

Many business owners are happy to give advice, and if you find someone who will, take advantage of their knowledge. Ask what works for them and what doesn’t. If you can, observe the layout and surroundings of their business and see if there are any elements you can make work for your own business. Do your best to model success.

Enjoy the freedom of having your own business!

Growing a sustainable therapy business takes hard work and discipline, but it can also offer the freedom and flexibility to manage your time and your life yourself. If you’d like to learn more about setting up your own business or making your current practice more sustainable, check out my THERAPY BUSINESS BOOTCAMP.

For more updates, follow us on our social media channels. We are on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram!

School anxiety after home learning is to be expected. For many students, it has been a long time since they were last in a classroom, and with the uncertainty of lockdowns and the world in general, many children and young people have anxiety about returning to the classroom.

This can be especially worrying for children whose siblings may be starting on a different date as schools stagger the return to school.

So, what does school anxiety look like, and how can you help your child to manage it?

Sometimes labelled as school refusal

Children who cannot face school because of their anxiety issues are sometimes labelled as school refusers, which is not helpful and doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. Authorities may also place pressure on parents to force kids to attend school, which adds to their stress and anxiety.

But blame and an authoritarian approach are not the best solutions to this problem. We’ll get to that. Let’s just take a moment to consider what school anxiety looks like.

• Internalising, becoming withdrawn
• Distress over normal events or morning chores
• Meltdowns
• Easily distracted, can’t focus
• Tearfulness
• Freezing at the door
• Quiet
• Mystery aches and pains
• Holding it together at school but negative behaviour at home
• Disruptive or destructive behaviour in the classroom
• Hiding
• Refusal to attend school no matter what

In the case of a student whose siblings are starting on a different date after a long period of home learning, school anxiety can be even worse, especially if they usually go to school together or see each other throughout the day. The student at school may feel more alone or vulnerable than usual, while the one still at home may have a lot of worries and fears for the sibling at school and for their own return to school on their allocated date.

So, how can parents ease the transition to school when students may be starting at different times?

Tips to help kids manage school anxiety when start dates are different

When one child is resuming face-to-face learning and others are still at home, it can be daunting and create anxiety. Try these tips to help with school anxiety and their worries around different starting dates.

Visual reminders of starting dates

Many families find it helpful to keep a calendar of the start dates for school or other important dates. You can have a calendar for the whole family to use and a separate one for each child. When your child starts to feel anxious about what’s going to happen, you can remind them to look at the calendar. Teach them to do this as a way of managing their anxiety.

Timetables

Another handy tool for anxious children left at home is knowing the timetable of a sibling who has returned to school. When they start to get anxious or worried about the sibling, you can show them the timetable and talk about what their sibling might be doing at that moment.

Focus on the known

Children often focus on the fear that the unknown brings. Will things still be the same at school? Will the classroom look the same? Will they still have the same desk and chair?

Rather than worrying about the unknown, help your child to focus on the things they do know. Look at the calendar with the start date on it and talk about returning to school on that date. Talk about the teacher if you’re sure it will be the same person. Help your child to remember the school routine, such as class time and playtime. Remind them that lots of the things that were familiar at school will be the same.

Look for the positives

Rather than getting caught in a cycle of worry and fear, look for the positives in returning to school. There is always something positive in any situation, and many things to be thankful for when you look for them.

Encourage your child to think of the things that are good about school. Will they be seeing a special friend again? Do they enjoy playing at recess? Is there a subject they like, such as art or music?

Help your child focus on the good things about school and enjoy the benefits of positive feelings instead of stress and worry.

Provide noise alleviation

Sometimes excessive noise causes school anxiety, especially for children with autism or sensory processing disorder.

If noise is the reason a child is anxious, you can send them to school with ear protection to minimise the noise. It’s best to discuss this with the teachers first so they can help your child manage while you’re not there.

Make home a calming experience

When a child comes home after a long day of school experiences, it’s essential to help them relax. Spend some time out in nature together. Take the dog for a walk or do some gardening. Go for a bike ride or a swim to get their muscles moving. Play with a pet, or listen to calming music together.

Creating calming experiences will look different for each family, but it’s important to have something in place so that your child can relax after school.

Set clear expectations of school boundaries and routines

Talk about school expectations before classes resume. Remind your child of the school routine and discuss school boundaries, if appropriate. Each school will have different rules, for example, no throwing sand at other children in the sandpit. No hitting, no swearing, or whatever other rules apply.

A reminder of the rules can be helpful because sometimes children break the rules without thinking. They then fear getting into trouble, so setting clear expectations around rules and behaviour can help alleviate anxiety.

Play games for distraction

Sometimes distractions are just what you need to prevent anxiety-induced meltdowns or tearfulness. Play an “I Spy” game on the way to school, or pick out favourite local landmarks. Try an imagination game about who might live in an unusual house, or think of something quirky such as what the animals in the zoo might say when they see all the people. Use your imagination and have some fun.

Get moving

Movement is so important for mood and wellbeing, and doing it with your child can make you both feel good. Set aside a regular time to get moving. You could put on a dance DVD and do all the moves together, go for a walk outside in the fresh air, play at the park, or ride your bikes.

Provide a safe place for your child to unload their worries and fears

One of the most important things you can do it provide a safe space where your child can unload their worries and fears without judgment, criciticism, or blame. Encourage your child to talk about their day and the things that went well and the things that didn’t. Talk about how they might be able to do things differently next time (it helps to build resilience), and think of ways to solve problems they might be facing.

School anxiety doesn’t have to control your life

School anxiety might be crippling, but it doesn’t have to control your life or your child’s. Try some of the strategies above, be understanding and encouraging, and help your child to thrive in spite of the challenges.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr1aHtyfwSM[/embedyt]
By Simone Ryan – Occupational Therapist – talking about regulation.
One of the most common requests I’ve had when working with families and educators of children (with or without a disability or delay) is for assistance with a child’s self regulation. When we think of how important social emotional development is to school success, initiating and maintaining friendships, and a child’s home life, it’s not a surprise that this is a priority for many families and educators.
‘Self regulation’ is commonly defined as a person’s ability to maintain a state of alertness and arousal appropriate for a given situation. This may look like being able to sit and listen to a teacher read a story, engage in physical games with peers such as chasey, or going to sleep within a reasonable timeframe. When I looked across the vast amount of research and publications regarding the development of self regulation, it was clear there are many factors involved. I decided to create a visual and write a series of posts to help parents, families, caregivers, teachers or people working with children to:

• Understand how regulation develops or changes in response to the environment (including the presence and quality of social and caregiver supports)
• Learn the goal of self regulation is to engage in occupations, whether they be wanted, needed or expected.
• Discover that regulation needs (personal factors) differ depending on occupational requirements

So what influences our self regulation?
I say “our” because I find it helpful to think of your own self regulation when trying to understand the various factors that may be impacting on a child’s regulation development. If we can understand what factors influence our own ability to self regulate, or contribute to those moments where we as adults find it difficult to remain at optimal alertness and arousal, then we can better understand those we are striving to support. When reading about the different factors listed, think about how each of these impact on your self regulation. Do they help you self regulate? Or do they hinder? Do you have to actively manage factors or have you learnt how to manage your self regulation without much thought?
Self regulation is a skill we learn and develop over the course of our lifetime, and is taught through our interactions with others, namely our caregivers. This is called ‘co-regulation’: the support we get from another person, when they alter their responses in accordance to our behaviour. Coregulation is the most important environmental factor impacting on self regulation development. It is part of the social environment, which also includes extended social supports, socioeconomic status and social role expectations. Other environmental factors include the physical (built or natural) and cultural environment of an individual.
Looking at The Regulation Rocket, environment is the land that the Rocket is built on. If it is crumbly and infertile, the Rocket will struggle to be well built or to ever take off. Even if a well built Rocket is placed in an environment that does not support it, it will cause damage, limiting the ability to reach occupations.
The planets in The Regulation Rocket visual symbolise the different ‘reasons’ we engage in occupations (or activities of daily life). These include what a person wants, needs or is expected to do (WFOT, 2012). Occupational therapists break occupations down into three main categories: self-care (the things you need to do to look after yourself such as eat, clean and dress yourself, go to the toilet etc), productivity (activities in the house or community such as working, going to school, housework, caring roles etc) and leisure (the things you want to do such as play, recreational activities, hobbies etc).
While the visual displays just 3 planets, we can imagine there are endless planets, each representing a specific occupation. Which planets are “reachable” depends on the structure of an individual’s Rocket. Sometimes, we may need to alter the environment to allow a person to have the Rocket they need to reach a particular planet. This may mean changing social supports given to address specific personal factors, or altering the physical environment to support rather than damage a particular Rocket piece. Other times, we may help an individual reach a planet that is different to the one original aimed for yet still meets the purpose of travel. Some examples:

• Verbalising how you are feeling for a child who is still developing their emotional understanding, so they don’t have to rely solely on interpreting non verbal cues.
• Reducing auditory input for an individual who feels overwhelmed in noisy environments
• Simplifying an obstacle course for a child who is still learning how to motor plan.

Self regulation development is also influenced by a variety of personal factors. As I mentioned before, these personal factors (or pieces of the Rocket) are both supported or impacted by an individual’s environment. The types of occupations to be successfully engaged in will depend on these factors:

• Biology
• Self Awareness
• Executive Functioning
• Sensory Processing
• Social Abilities
• Emotional Understanding
• Basic Needs
• Habits, Beliefs and Past Experiences
• Motivation

A person’s self regulation is fluid. It will change depending on the environment and occupation being engaged in, as well as the influence of the personal factors at any point in time. Each of these factors can be specifically supported in order for an individual to develop self regulation skills and engage in meaningful occupations.
Thanks Simone for sharing your blog with us! Simone’s web-based planet is www.rocketot.com.
For more information, check out these blogs by Deb Hopper –

• Teaching kids with autism about emotions and self-regulation
• Supporting emotional well being at home using visuals
• Helping your child who has anxiety for sensory reasons

Improving Fine Motor Skills

Written by Deb Hopper

Published in

Great Health Guide articles available in Audio:

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO VERSION:

Sometimes it’s the little things in life that make the biggest difference and sometimes the little things in life can be the most difficult. Many children struggle with fine motor skills, or the ability to use their fingers to get the little things done. This might include doing up buttons, zips, doing up shoe laces, playing with favourite construction toys such as Lego, holding cutlery, or helping to pour themselves a drink for example.
There are three main reasons why children might find these day to day things difficult to do. These are hand and body strength, dexterity and finger co-ordination and the ability to plan what they need to do. Practicing these skills at home can be easy, fun and low cost to do. If your child continues to struggle, please contact your occupational therapist, preschool or school teacher for some more ideas.
Here are 5 top tips for making the little movements easier.
1.Sometimes a child finds it hard to control fine finger movements needed in things such as drawing or Lego because they don’t have a stable body base.
We need to have strong core postural muscles and good control of big arm movements, before we can do small movement tasks such as drawing. Body strengthening activities such as swimming, trampolining, or lying on a skate board and pushing themselves around helps children to create a strong postural core, arms and legs, to act as a solid base for finger based co-ordination tasks.
2. Sometimes children also need to strengthen their hands and arm muscles so they have the strength to open milk containers, lunch boxes or the toothpaste.
Just like adults go to the gym to strengthen our big muscles, children can also strengthen their hand muscles. For younger children, pull out the playdoh and roll snakes, pinch patterns and make snails. For older kids, they need extra resistance so try plasticine or a soft to medium strength theraputty, for hand strengthening. Or, think outside the box and get them to ‘paint the fence’. This activity is cheap and the large arm movements needed will help strengthen their arms. For strengthening little fingers, buy a cheap water sprayer and give them the job of watering the pot plants. It’s a great strengthening activity and will help you too!
3. If your child is struggling with a daily task, such as tying his or her shoelaces, help to give them the feeling of success.
Backward chaining is a great way to build confidence in fine motor skills. This means that you complete most of the task and then they do the last part. You say, ‘Well done!’ and build up their self-esteem. The next time, you do one less step and coach them in what to do, to complete the last two steps, giving praise at the end. Continue until they can do the whole task.
4. Play the ‘tell you what to do game’. This game is great for kids who struggle with planning or motor planning.
Start with bigger movements while they learn the rules of the game, for example, jumping. Get them to tell you what
their body is going to do when they do the activity, e.g. ‘jump’. For example, for jumping you need to bend your knees, put your bottom backwards, push up, jump and land. Once they get used to ‘telling’ you how to do bigger
tasks, get them to tell you how they do things with their fingers. For example, ask them to tell you how they will pick up their glass of milk at breakfast time. This could be ‘reach out, open my hand, pick up cup, move towards
my mouth, take a drink, put it back on table’. Connecting thoughts of planning words into action can help create links in the brain to make fine motor tasks easier.
5. You don’t need to buy lots of fancy toys with bells and whistles to improve motor skills. The best way to learn is to use and practise with containers, jars, lunch boxes, opening cereal boxes or helping to pack the dishwasher. If you child is finding a particular task difficult, say ‘Stop, think, breathe, what is your plan?’ Once we can stop and get a plan together, it can help to overcome feelings and responses of frustration, makes learning the task easier and creates best feedback pathways to the brain for the next level of learning.
So next time your child is struggling with something fiddly, ‘Stop, think, breathe, ask what their plan is’. Think about what fun and low cost games you can do with them, or set up for them, to make it easier next time.

Well, it’s the holiday season and Christmas is around the corner. Lights, music, yummy food and family all around. It can’t get better than that, can it?  But do you fear your kids won’t feel the same? Many children are anxious about the holiday season.
You might see them complaining of nausea, stomach problems, fatigue or pain. They might be having melt downs, crying for reasons you are not aware of, isolating themselves from everything that is happening around them, over eating, and the list goes on.
These may be signs of worry or anxiety for your child. You may be wondering why they are so out of sorts when everything is supposed to be fun and happy. They might also seem anxious, scared and overwhelmed or depressed. Did you do anything wrong or is it just that time of the year?
Well don’t blame yourself, it’s just that time of the year when things are out of the ordinary. Let’s find out why the situation is so, and what we can do to make our kids: Just Right (and less anxious) for the holiday season.

Why do some kids get overwhelmed and anxious at Christmas?

Some of the general qualities of alerting stimuli are unexpectedness, novelty, irregularity, intensity, complexity, incongruity, negative association and fast paced movement or sound. The holiday season is exciting for us because of all these characters of it. But when the alerting nature gets too much for kids, they are overwhelmed and some shut down their systems to cope. The routines which the kids are used to, become irregular and incongruent. They are often encountered with novel situations of visiting family, with long drives during travel. The decorative lights, the gifts wrapped in bright coloured papers, concerts and parties are intense and fast paced. Earlier experiences of these situations reminds them of this complexity and eventually leads them to form negative associations.
A sensory overload to all the sensory systems such as visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory/ olfactory, proprioceptive and vestibular system occurs.
The arrow points to the black (meltdown, tantrum, black crash zone) or the red zone (fast, busy, angry or frustrated) in our Just Right Kids Model.

Click HERE for more info on Deb Hopper’s Just Right Kids Self Regulation Diagram. 
We have to turn the arrow to the green (the Just Right Zone), where kids are calm, settled and feeling happy.
How do we do that amidst the craziness of holidays and visitors?

Our Top 5 Strategies For Reducing Anxiety This Christmas:

1. Build a holiday routine. It sounds difficult but try building one with what you can expect.
2. Visual routines work best. Create a calendar and write or draw pictures so your child knows what’s coming up. This often reduces anxiety.
3. Social stories can help the children see through a difficult situation and help them identify and be aware of the strategies they can use. Social stories also help children to plan ahead and be ready.
4. Break down complex tasks to smaller steps. If you need to put up the Christmas tree, it’s a complex task for the kids. So break down the entire task into teeny weeney steps. Ask them to go through it one at a time. Now it’s not so overwhelming is it?
5. Strategies Jar – Calming strategies such as deep pressure, slow rhythmic movements, chewy necklaces etc., – goes into the jar which the children pick up when they need it.

Now that wasn’t too bad, was it?
It’s as easy as putting together a simple plan to survive this Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.