Once again we are producing an Advent Calendar from 1st-24 December. Each day will have a new activity for young children. For Day One I “uncolored” the Advent Calendar image to create a line drawing that can be colored in and decorated. Encourage your child to use their imagination and use whatever colors they want.
The lead up to Christmas is exciting for children as they look forward to the big day and what it will bring. It can also be quite stressful or boring for them. This situation can lead them to inappropriate behaviour. Parents are so busy with preparations and shopping it is often hard to find time to spend with the kids on activities they enjoy. Parents’ stress can also rub off onto their children.
I was waiting to be picked up with my parcels outside a shopping centre yesterday. There was a mum, loaded with shopping, obviously frazzled but trying to keep cheerful for her 6 something son. She had been in a taxi but the driver was so distracted by the behaviour of her son that he dropped her off, refusing to take her all the way home. This is an extreme situation but it is understandable that a child, excited by all the Christmas goodies at the shops does not want to follow mum for hours as she goes from shop to shop buying presents for others.
I hope to provide activities that will give your child something to do while you are busy, although I am sure a helping hand would be appreciated too.
If you can find some time to enjoy the season there are plenty of family activites around the city at this time of year. I will be talking about these in future articles.