Something for the holidays
- By Dr Tharina Annandale
During the year we really look forward to the holidays, but as soon as we are two weeks into the December holidays, the children start to fight and we get frustrated with them. In a lot of families, different members have different sensory profiles and this can even contribute to the fighting amongst family members.
It is really good and important to know your sensory profile (Brown and Dunn, 2002) in order to understand your behaviour towards something or someone. In my household I have a fourteen-year-old boy who is sensory sensitive and a twelve-year-old boy who is sensory seeking. You can believe me when I say that things do not always go smoothly, especially not when times are stressful or family members are tired!
The following activities can contribute to a peaceful and stress-free holiday, and can assist with sensory regulation:
Water balloons– This game should be played outside and can contribute to hours of joy!
Water balloons can be bought from the “Crazy Store” or any other general retail store which should have stock during summer.
Method:
Fill the balloons with water and then divide the children (and the rest of the family) into teams and each person tries to throw the filled balloons at the other family members.
Marie biscuit and condensed milk cookies- This is messy, but delicious!
Marie biscuits and condensed milk can be bought from the baking aisle at any retail store.
Method:
Take a mixing bowl (you can also give a mixing bowl to each child) and break a packet of Marie biscuits into the bowl. Open the tin of condensed milk into the mixing bowl and mix the contents.
The mixture should be quite firm, but it will be sticky.
Take some of the mixture and make a ball (as big as a table-tennis ball). The balls can then be rolled in coconut or any alternative (Smarties, chocolate chips or even jelly tots).
Put the cookie balls in the fridge overnight and the next day you will have a wonderful snack! You can even invite other family members or friends to enjoy the snack with you.
“I spy with my little eye”-this activity can also be played in the car or even at home!
You will only need your imagination, concentration and motivation.
Method:
When driving in the car or sitting on the living room couch you can think of something starting with a certain letter and then you can say, “I spy with my little eye…something starting with an ‘A’” (for example). Then the rest of the people must guess and try to identify the item that you are thinking of.
The person that guesses it correctly has to start and do the same in the next round. He/she can choose something else that they see and then they repeat, ”I spy with my little eye… something starting with …” (whatever letter the item that they are thinking of starts with).
Continue with these steps until everyone needs a break.
Fabric painting- this activity is nice to do with girls, but my boys also enjoy it. It is important to choose something that the child wants to paint on the fabric.
You will need material that is white, cream or any other pastel colour.
Fabric paint can be bought at any arts and crafts shop.
Method:
Cut a piece of fabric that is large enough to make a bag, cushion, pencil case or whatever you would like to make.
Choose a picture from a colouring book and trace it onto the fabric using a marker pen.
The child then paints inside the lines of the picture. Mommy or even Daddy can also enjoy this activity.
When the painting has dried you can make something with the painted picture, like a pencil bag, a cushion, or you could even frame the picture for the child’s room. Children really like it when they can say that they made the item themselves!
Pillow fighting- This activity is one of my favourite childhood activities.
You don’t need to buy anything extra. You will need pillows and a soft place to land (normally this is your double bed, but you can also put a mattress on the floor in the living room).
Method:
Take pillows and encourage the children to hit each other within certain boundaries. It is important to supervise the activity so that the hitting is not used to take out frustrations or bully other siblings.
You can even use a stopwatch and allow the children to hit each other for a certain time.
The activity can also be changed by using “pool noodles” instead of pillows.
With the above ideas, I hope that you can enjoy the holidays and that you have a stress-free and calm festive season.