2020 december | Gifted People Services

How to make the holiday safe and fun for kids?

The bells of the New Year are ringing, 2020 is drawing to a close, and the long-awaited Christmas and New Year's Day are finally upon us. During this special period when the pandemic is still in full swing, how can we spend a satisfying holiday with our children on a safe basis?

Despite the better improvement of the pandemic, influenza and infectious diseases are at their peak in winter, so we and our children should still protect ourselves to avoid the virus.

Five safety precautions:

Keep warm in winter and strengthen the immune system.
Keep the house clean and ventilated.
Wash hands regularly with soap and water, or with alcohol.

Keep a distance of 1.5 meters from people.

Wear a mask in public to prevent droplet transmission.

In addition to staying safe, it is also important to have a happy and satisfying holiday. As parents, what can we do for our children?

Participate in the online New Year's Day and Christm as activities.
Decorate the room and the Christmas tree with the child.

Read a book or watch a movie with your child.

Drive with the child around the house to see other people's houses decorated and to feel the holiday spirit.
Prepare a gift for your child or enjoy a nice meal with them.

As a parent of a child with ASD, there are some different details to pay attention to during this special time of year, and these tips can help the child have a more comfortable holiday season.

Since holiday decorations only come around once a year, they may trigger confusion for your child. They are visually or audibly stimulated and don't understand why the decorations change and make the house look different. This can make children may want to play with or touch them. Therefore, as parents, we should introduce these decorations to our children in advance so that they are not going to touch dangerous decorations such as torches and snowballs to hurt themselves.

Christmas trees usually take up space and force furniture to be moved or adjusted, which could cause stress to the child. Not to mention the lights and decorations on the tree, that may frustrate and confuse your child. So as with holiday decorating, let's take it step-by-step. Perhaps this year, we can simply hang a picture of the tree on the wall or decorate the tree with one or two felt ornaments. This way it won't look clumsy and won't take up any of the child's usual space. If all goes well, adding a tabletop tree also could be good. Add a few decorations at a time and explain why we want to put the tree in the house.

We can all understand the surprise of having a gift, but the biggest problem with gifts is usually the wait time. It may be difficult for a child to understand why a gift exists that cannot be opened immediately. On the other hand, some children may not even be interested in the box because they can't see what's in it and don't understand the concept of opening a gift. So if the child can understand and handle the gift opening process, we could have him/her open the first gift, followed by siblings and other family members. Parents can try to do what makes your child feel the happiest and most comfortable. If your child is not capable of unwrapping the wrapping paper, try to downplay this step each time it comes up.

To sum up, Wish you and your child a wonderful holiday!

References

Coronavirus (who.int)

How to Safely Wear and Take Off a Cloth Face Covering | CDC

Holidays can be stressful for children with autism spectrum disorder (mytownneo.com)

https://pixabay.com/

Fun Christmas Activities to do for kids and parents

Build a snowman

Building a snowman is a fun activity to do with your kids if you have snow in your yard. You can prepare some carrots, buttons, twigs, and clothing like scarves, mittens and hats for them to decorate. This will encourage the kids to be creative. They may get frustrated in the process of building the snowman so the parents should be very careful and offer them some help and comfort when needed. When the snow starts melting, it may be difficult to explain to the child why the snowman disappears. An easier way could be building a snowman using playdoughs and the accessories made out of paper and card. We could give them a box of markers and crayons and ask them to design a snowman on paper, then hang their drawing on the wall. Doing a snowman coloring could also be fun!

If you are worried about the danger of going out in the cold weather for your child, you could use baking soda to create fake snow since fake snow is always fun to play with and is very multi-sensory. Add any favourite play toys to the tray of fake snow to make it more interesting to play with. If you need an edible-safe version, just use cornflour and a small amount of water.

(watch how to make fake snow)

2. Make Gingerbread Men

Let your children decide if they want to add in chocolate chips, coconut, cinnamon, and even food coloring. Pick out some holiday-themed cookie cutters and let your child play pastry chef. You could also try a gingerbread cookie with the shape of a star or christmas tree, or any shape your kid might be interested in. Use icing writers or homemade icings, and decorate it with smartie buttons.

3. Watch a Christmas movie

Frozen (rent online)

Anna sets out on a journey with an iceman, Kristoff, and his reindeer, Sven, in order to find her sister, Elsa, who has the power to convert any object or person into ice.

Elf (rent online)

Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) isn't really an elf. He's a human, raised by elves in the North Pole, and has just landed in New York to meet his real father.

Polar Express (rent online)

All aboard the Polar Express, a train more magical than any other Santa-themed train ride. This movie follows a trip to the North Pole where Santa is visible—if only people believe.

The Santa Clause (rent online)

This classic Disney movie posits that Santa is not born—he's made. As soon as a person dons the signature red suit, he's imbued with Santa's powers. Tim Allen plays an ordinary man whose life takes an extraordinary turn after Santa crash-lands on his roof, and he takes over his duties.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (rent online)

Speaking of Christmas Carol adaptations, this half-hour Disney movie is a shorter alternative to the original version, and even better for audiences with shorter attention spans.