Holiday Survival Tips for Kids with ADHD

For many families, the holiday season is a time of celebration and creating cherished memories. However, for kids with ADHD, it can also be a time of heightened challenges. The combination of excitement, change in routine, and sensory overload can make it overwhelming, leading to stress, meltdowns, and a very not-joyful season for the whole family. . In this blog post, we’ll explore why kids with ADHD may struggle during the holidays and provide practical tips to help them not only survive but thrive during this festive season.

Why Do Kids with ADHD Struggle During the Holidays?

Children with ADHD often have difficulty with impulse control, attention span, and sensory processing. The holiday season can exacerbate these challenges due to:

• Overstimulation: Bright lights, loud noises, and crowded spaces can be overwhelming for kids with ADHD, leading to sensory overload.
• Changes in Routine: The holidays often disrupt the usual routines, which can be particularly challenging for children who thrive with structure and predictability.
• High Expectations: The pressure to conform to family expectations and engage in various activities can create stress and anxiety.
• Emotional Regulation: Managing excitement or frustration can be harder for children with ADHD, making it challenging to navigate the emotional highs and lows of the holiday season.
• Poor Resilience and Stress Management: Many kids with ADHD get overwhelmed by stress and struggle to bounce back when things don’t go the way they’d planned or hoped.
• Weak Cognitive Processing: Skills like memory, working memory, processing speed, logic, and attention all work together to not only manage learning, but also drive behavior, impulse control, and processing of the world around you. Kids with ADHD often struggle more than peers in several of these areas, making the holidays more overwhelming and stressful for them.

Read More: Ways the ADHD Brain is Different >>

Here are Some Holiday Survival Tips for Families with ADHD Kids:

Manage Expectations (for Your Kids and Yourself)

• Set realistic expectations: Understand that your child may not be able to participate in every activity or event. Prioritize what’s most important for them and be prepared to adapt plans if needed.

• Communicate openly: Have a candid conversation with your child about what to expect during the holidays. Explain potential challenges and reassure them that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed or need a break.

• Know your own stress points and triggers: If you know that your child’s meltdowns around certain family members set off your stress (for example), you can prepare yourself for these situations and try to anticipate it before it happens. Acknowledging your capacity to manage your child’s and your own stress in certain situations can help free you up to do the things you know you’ll all enjoy and say no to the things that just don’t work for your family.

Set a Routine (as Much You Can) + Discuss Plans in Advance

• Maintain consistency: While it’s difficult to stick to a rigid routine during the holidays, try to incorporate some elements of their regular schedule. Consistency provides comfort and predictability.

• Plan ahead: Discuss upcoming events or activities with your child in advance. Knowing what to expect can help reduce anxiety and prepare them for new experiences.

Take a Moment to Diffuse Tension and Relieve Sensory Overload When Needed

• Designate a calming space: Create a designated area where your child can retreat if they become overwhelmed. Fill it with comforting items like soft pillows, fidget toys, or noise-canceling headphones.

• Practice deep breathing and mindfulness: Teach your child simple breathing exercises or mindfulness techniques to help them regain focus and calmness in overwhelming situations.

Coregulate Emotions and Strategically Choose Activities

• Engage in physical activity: Incorporate activities that allow your child to release excess energy. Outdoor play, sports, or even a short walk can be incredibly beneficial to calm stress and regulate emotions for kids with ADHD.

• Offer a balance of structured activities and freedom: Provide activities that offer clear guidelines and structure (communicated ahead of time). Games or crafts with specific rules can be engaging and help maintain attention. Balancing these activities amid more free time will provide some structure that ADHD brains appreciate!

• Watch your own stress levels: Kids with ADHD are often sensitive to strong feelings and stress responses of those around them. If you’re stressed out by the holidays, your kids will most likely be, too. Taking the time to manage your own stress and provide stable coregulation opportunities will help your kids thrive through the season.

Pace Yourself and Keep Activities to a Manageable Level

• Avoid overloading the schedule: While there may be numerous events and gatherings, be selective about which ones to attend. Allow for downtime between activities to prevent burnout and overstimulation.

• Monitor for signs of overwhelm: Pay attention to your child’s cues and body language. If you notice signs of fatigue or agitation, it may be time to take a break or leave the situation.

Building Your Child’s Resilience, Impulse Control, and Processing Abilities Starts with the Brain

Remember, every child with ADHD is unique, so it’s essential to tailor these strategies to suit your child’s individual needs. By being proactive and sensitive to their challenges, you can help your child not only survive but truly enjoy the holiday season. 

As you spend time with your child through the holidays, watch for signs like:

• Falling behind in conversations or tasks
• Struggling to keep up with changes in plans or pivoting when circumstances change
• Sensory overwhelm and struggling to bounce back
• Losing interest in tasks or activities more quickly
• Impulsivity and a lack of restraint in various situations

These are all signs of weak processing abilities that are rooted in your child’s cognitive skills. While you may just think of skills like attention and memory as important for learning, the reality is that they impact every area of life—especially if one or more of them is weak.