Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The count-down has begun and the build- up has commenced. We are dragging our artificial Christmas trees down from the attic or in from the shed and wondering if we will get another year out of them or should we get a real tree this year. The children are busy enumerating their demands and parents are working out if they need to remortgage in order to satisfy them. Everybody is very excited. Even if, like me, you are not a Christian you can choose to be carried away by the Spirit of Christmas (an ancient festival which has its roots in the pre-Christian celebration of the Winter Solstice) and join in the fun and the tradition of giving and receiving gifts and hospitality. For young children there is everything to look forward to and the only problem is having to wait. For parents and those who work with children there is often a huge amount of effort involved.
Child-care staff and educators will have plans to introduce the theme of Christmas to daily activities using art, drama, story-telling and play. In today’s multi-cultural Ireland it is vital that staff demonstrate awareness of, and respect for, the beliefs and traditions of all children in their care. Where other festivals or spiritual occasions are valued by the families you serve, it is important that these are marked in your daily activities in addition to Christmas. Dwali, the Hindu festival of light, and Henniker, the Jewish Festival, both occur around this time. So staff will have their hands full, planning, preparing and delivering a fun package for the children leading up to the Christmas season. Are children aware of all this effort? No, of course not and that is as it should be.
Are they excited?
YES!
Are they Bouncy?
YES.
Are they finding it easy to behave well at pre-school?
NO!!
Children are not renowned for their patience and little children have a very limited understanding of time. They love to have something to look forward to providing they can have it now. They also love fun and the freedom to play without limits, but very often they actually cannot deal with total freedom. They respond by misbehaving in an attempt to make the adults restore the security they need. The last few weeks before the Christmas holidays begin is a time when it is tempting for staff to soften the boundaries and loosen the structures around the daily routine. Take it from me it requires a lot more effort (and a greater level of skill and patience) to teach or even just entertain children without planning, preparation and routine. So go easy on yourselves and keep pretty much to the basic routines that you know work well in your establishment. Introduce the fun and frolics of the holiday season in bite-size chunks throughout the day and apply the same fair rules as you do the rest of the year. Oh, and don’t even think about mentioning the ‘Christmas’ word before the 11th of December at the very earliest. Start the fun too soon and the novelty will have worn off leaving you with bored, grumpy grinches days before the end of term.
I have no doubt that I am preaching to the converted when it comes to seasoned professionals. Those who are coming up to their first Christmas working in a pre-school setting will probably trust the advice given above.
What about parents?
By the end of term many parents will already be stressed and tired traipsing around toy shops. Those on low incomes will be worried about trying to give their children a great Christmas on a tight budget and may be worried about making ends meet once Christmas is gone. Those with large families especially families with older children as well as pre-schoolers will be tearing their hair out trying to find the exact technology or brand of mobile required. They may well be asking themselves what the world has come to when a young person gets a phone costing €350 and her mother will be wearing an outfit from Penney’s. Then there are the decorations, the food shopping, the assembly of complicated toys (using totally indecipherable instructions) and the day has not even dawned. Spare a thought during all of this for the lone parents up and down the land who may be doing the entire job unaided.
Are the children mindful of all this effort and personal sacrifice?
NO. and that is as it should be. They will go to bed blissfully anticipating the fulfilment of their dreams while you break open the Baileys or the brandy, or both, and pray they will let you get at least six hours sleep between arranging the toys under the tree and acting surprised when they show them to you the next morning.
‘Tis the season to be jolly’… the babes awaken, their happy voices trill throughout the land. The parents stuff black plastic bags full with wrapping paper and get to work on the dinner as the little ones entertain themselves in peace and harmony. It’s all been worth it and once the dishes are cleared we can all sit back and relax for a few days. No school, no work, no effort… Right? No!! sorry to be the bearer of bad news during the happiest time of the year, but remember what I said earlier about children needing routine in order to feel secure. I am afraid that they need this at Christmas just as much as the rest of the year. I remember the year that I spent five hours trying to assemble a toy kitchen for my four year old daughter. I got up on Christmas morning feeling exhausted and hoping that she did not notice that it wasn’t standing straight and parts were upside down. She did notice but thought Santa had bent it coming down the chimney. All that kept me on my feet that morning was the misguided belief that the children were going to entertain themselves happily while I put my feet up and watched rubbish on TV. Because I was slow to catch on that structure was urgently required, I found myself feeling rather cross and resentful that my four year old was just as demanding of my time and attention as she would be at any other time of the year .A few days passed before I finally realised that life would be much more pleasant for all of us including me, if we reintroduced our normal routine, with just a few variations to give it a special flavour. The following Christmas I planned the Christmas routine in advance and we all had much more fun with a lot less effort. So give yourself a break.
Some Christmas Tips
* Choose some inexpensive games that the whole family can play together
* Remember to play them
* Include some inexpensive toys that your children will play with unaided for a
fairly long time
* Decide on a bedtime for the holidays – it can be a little different from
normal but needs to be appropriate for the child’s age.
* Don’t threaten children with no toys from Santa. They know you won’t follow
through and it is so nice for Christmas to be unconditional
* Try to get out for a walk everyday of the holidays – it helps to calm children and
is good for them and us.
* Do your best to limit sugary food – it can make some children very
unfocussed, hyperactive and generally irritable. The negative effects of sugar on
behaviour are reduced if eaten after a meal that has lots of wholegrain,
vegetables and protein.
* Avoid leaving young children to play alone for too long while you have a lie –
in. You will pay the price in the form of mess or sibling conflict and will then
spend the morning feeling grumpy and catching up on yourself. Best to get up,
give them breakfast, set them up with a game and lie on the sofa in your
jammies for a while.
A Few Suggestions for Family Fun
Simple card games such as snap. Use brightly coloured picture-cards
Jenga
Hide and seek
Hot and Cold (take turns to hide a small item and say ‘hot’ as the searcher moves closer to the hidden item or’cold’ as she moves away from it).
Buckaroo
These may keep your children occupied while you relax for a little while
Megasketcher
Crayons and colouring book
Building blocks
Trains, trucks and small cars especially if a garage or matching play mat is included.
Small dolls with lots of clothes that are easy to take on and off.
Shop
Small children do not know the price or brand of toys unless someone else tells them. They are usually just as happy with inexpensive versions of toys. Please check safety standards on all toys and ensure they are safe your child’s age and capability.
Siobhan O’Rourke
Challenging Behaviour Therapist
Positive Intervention.
Siobhan offers a range of services to families, staff teams and organisations. To discuss your needs please contact 0862022521
siobhanteaching@eircom.net
Written by
Siobhan O'Rourke
www.positivechange.ie
Ireland's leading Early Years education Magazine
