Surviving the Holidays with Toddlers (Guest Post)

Today, we are sharing a great guest post from one of our sponsors, It Takes A Village Baby Consultants! We all know that the holidays can bring some tough and stressful times among the joyful moments, especially when you have little ones. Today, the wonderful ladies behind It Takes A Village Baby Consultants are sharing with you some great ideas on surviving the holidays with toddlers. Make sure to follow along on their blog for more great advice and tips!

Surviving the Holidays with Toddlers

When I was a young mom, like
you, I wanted to make the holidays special for my children. I put a lot of
pressure on myself. I obsessed over every detail and drug them to every holiday
light show, nativity scene, and Santa sighting, only to have several meltdowns
because they were tired and over stimulated. In these early years I didn’t realize that I
had many more years to create traditions and memories. I didn’t have to do it
all at once. I have compiled a few tips on how to get through the holidays so
that you and your toddler can enjoy them without the stress.

1.
Do not start preparing for the holidays too early. Even though the stores have started putting up
decorations and Santa is already in the mall, we do not need to start until
after Thanksgiving. Young children do not have the same sense of time as we do.
The anticipation can cause overstimulation for your child. Little ones often express
over stimulation, over tired and stress by crying, acting out, tantruming and/or
crying,

2.
Do not expect your toddler to sit through the entire Thanksgiving
or holiday dinner. This is a long
time for little ones. Be prepared and bring food that he/she likes just in case
there is not toddler friendly food. Also, give your toddler opportunities to get up and
walk around. You and your partner can take turns eating and getting up walking
around with your child.

3.
Pack toys/activities for your toddler or preschooler to
do. It might be great for you to
catch up with relatives that you haven’t seen all year but this isn’t much fun
for toddlers and preschoolers.

4. If traveling in a car or plane be prepared. Pack snacks, water and most importantly inexpensive
dollar store toys/activities that you save just for that trip. If possible, try
to book flights during your child’s nap or bedtime.

5. Keep your child on a schedule as much as possible. As many days as you can, stick to your child’s nap
and bedtime schedule. An overtired child can kill the holiday cheer.

6. Slow Down! Don’t
put pressure on yourself to do everything and take your children to every
holiday activity. They are young, and there will be plenty of time to take them
to holiday activities. Remember to slow down. It is much better to only do a
few activities at a slower pace with a happy toddler than to be stressed trying
to get in 10 activities with a crying and over tired toddler.

7. Let the children help out with the holiday
preparations. Everything does not
have to be Pinterest perfect! Let toddlers do simple things like handing you
the decorations for the tree, putting sprinkles on the cookies. Preschoolers
can put Christmas cards in the envelopes and help to bake cookies and treats.

Holiday traditions are very
important for you and your growing family. However, they are not fun if your
toddler is tired, crying or tantruming. I promise, you have plenty of time to
build those traditions. You do not need to do them all at once while your
children are very young. Take the stress off of yourself and your toddler this
season.

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