Happier Holidays with the Brains of Children in Mind!

By Deborah McNelis, founder of Brain Insights and author of, The Brain Development Series.

Hopefully it has been a wonderful year for you! Everyone of us either contributing to or following PreK and K Sharing, has been dedicated to making an impact toward happy and healthy children. 

It is a pleasure to be a part of this wonderful community, so I share this post with wishes for beautiful holiday enjoying every moment of this caring time!  

To help make this time of year more enjoyable, hopefully these tips will contribute to happier brains for the children in your life or are helpful to share with other parents! (Many of these tips do apply to adult brains also!)

Holiday Shopping 

The brain likes the right amount of stimulation.The brain doesn't like to be bored and it also doesn't like to be over stimulated. 

The brain also loves having fun, it likes using all of the senses, and thrives from physical activity. There also is a psychological need that makes a child seek attention. When a child is given positive attention and fun interaction, it is less likely that negative behaviors will result. 

When a child is hungry, tired and not getting stimulated in a way that is fun and interesting it is more likely you will have to deal with acting out behaviors. Your child isn't trying to be "bad", his or her brain is just reacting to what it needs. Young children's brains are also of course not developed to the point of being able to control all of their feelings and impulses yet. 

Children need the adults in their life to understand and offer support. Involving your child and interacting in fun ways while shopping will help keep your child's brain stimulated. 

 

     Involve your child in choosing gifts so they can experience the

     benefits to the brain as a result of giving or donating to others

     Name a color. Have your child look for and point out items with

     that color as you shop

    Have your child look for the first letter in their name printed on

    items or signs as you shop

    Give your child a suggestion for a way to move differently in

    each aisle. For example you could say: "In this aisle walk on

    your tip toes." or "This time take 3 steps then hop."

    Encourage your child to describe how various items feel

    Bring a coupon or photo from a flyer for items you plan to

    purchase. Make a searching game. Have your child look for the

    pictured item as you go through the aisles.

Holiday Eating

 A child can play and learn for a good amount of time after eating a balanced meal. This will boot levels of feel good chemicals in the brain. But, if high sugar content foods and candy are eaten on an empty stomach, without the presence of adequate amounts of protein, this sends blood sugar levels sky-high. Then, 30 minutes later, a drop in the sugar levels can lead to aggression, anxiety, and hyperactive behavior.

       Keep water and healthy snacks with you when you are away 

       from home to keep the brain from getting cravings and turning

       to sugary drinks and fast food for meals

      Provide meals that include adequate amounts of protein

      Eat healthy foods before (or instead of) eating sweets. This will 

      help keep brain systems balanced and lessen the chance for

      mood swings

      Put a place mat in the refrigerator with a variety of healthy

      foods on it. Let your child know these are food they "get to" 

     choose from when needing a snack  

  

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  Buying Toys for Children
  
  
  
  

  Play is the way the brain learns best. When a child is using several senses, exploring, paying attention, and is trying things out in different ways, brain cells change and the child learns. Children need to participate and experiment… not watch. The brain also needs trial and error and a lot of repetition in fun and interesting ways. All of this is provided through play. It is important to keep this in mind when choosing gifts.  Ensure toys  do any or all of the following....

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Provide an opportunity for direct interaction and manipulation

  
  

  Give a child a chance to develop something with their hands

  
  

  Offer a variety of ways for using the toy or object

  
  

  Encourages dramatic play and pretending

  
  

  Spark imagination and creativity 

  
  

  Allow the child to repeat or expand a process

  
  

  Promotes movement and physical play   
  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  With good toys in mind, you may also want to get involved and vote for the worst toy for 2012 by Commercial Free Childhood.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The polls close Wednesday, December 5th at midnight so be sure to visit http://commercialfreechildhood.org/TOADY2012 today. And don’t forget to lobby your friends and family to vote for your selection.

  
  

  
  

  Since there is nothing children want more than fun interactions with their parents .... Brain Insights Activity Packets make very loving gifts! 
  
  

  

  
   

  Enjoy every moment of the season with your healthy brains!!

  
  

  
  

  Happy Holidays!!