Big Feelings in a Busy Season: Validating Your Anxious Child During the Holidays
The holiday season is upon us and it can bring excitement, fun, and never-ending to-do lists. And for your anxious child, the holidays may also bring a lot of overwhelm.
Image Credit: Mohammadreza alidoost @mralidoost
Normal routines that your anxious child relies on can shift, social expectations can feel heavy, and the school schedule still requires them to study for tests and complete their homework on time. Despite the joy and fun that the holiday season can bring, it can be a lot for anxious kids to navigate.
At Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, we often see kids struggle during the holiday season and parents desperate to help them manage the anxiety and enjoy the festivities. If this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone and there is support here for you!
Today Compassionate Counseling St. Louis Owner and Founder, Kelsey Torgerson Dunn and Compassionate Counseling St. Louis Senior Therapist, Molly Shaffer are sharing some of their insights on validating and helping your anxious child throughout this holiday season.
The St. Louis therapist team at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis is here to support your family and help your child overcome the holiday overwhelm.
Kelsey Dunn, MSW, LCSW
Kelsey Dunn, MSW, LCSW
Owner & Teen Anxiety Expert
Many parents share that winter break ends up being more stressful than they expect. Between travel, changes in routine, and nonstop activities, what’s supposed to be a fun, relaxing time often turns into a season filled with stress, meltdowns, and emotional outbursts. For anxious kids, the excitement and unpredictability of the holidays can be especially overwhelming.
My advice for parents is to take a step back and recognize that along with all the busy-ness comes stress... both for kids, and for us as parents. So whenever possible, build in fun and low pressure relaxation time.
Take a break from the holiday parties, say no to the third breakfast with Santa, and maybe change that huge Christmas lights excursion to a short walk with just your immediate family. Ensure that you are building in some quiet, mindful, relaxed breathing room. Watching a cozy movie with the fireplace on, or taking a nap even though it's winter break, or spending 5 minutes on a yoga video together can really help your child’s body and brain reset. These small moments of rest are not just breaks—they are essential for helping anxious kids (and parents) regulate emotions and handle the next busy moment with more patience and calm.
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Molly Shaffer, MA, LPC
Molly Shaffer, MA, LPC
Child & Teen Therapist, Trauma Specialist and Parent Coach
I often suggest to parents to do their best to maintain routines when possible, this will help maintain some stability and predictability which can help reduce anxiety levels. So, when possible with all the holidays gatherings, plan ahead for meal times, sleep/nap times and down time. When you know the routine will be affected, talking and strategizing about that ahead of time could look like talking about upcoming days where there will be lots of activities or travel and creating a new schedule for that day.
As always when they have big reactions VALIDATION is super helpful!
Here are some helpful phrases that you can use throughout this holiday season and beyond:
That noise/crowd feels like a lot, I can see why you’d need a break.
Your body’s telling us it needs some quiet - let’s listen to it.
Sometimes when things are fun, they can still feel overwhelming.
You have so much energy right now, let’s find a fun way to use it.
That game didn't go your way, that can feel so frustrating.
Hear more from the therapist team at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis!
Ready to get support for your family at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis?
The St. Louis counselors at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis would love to help your and your family find your balance this holiday season and beyond! At Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, we specialize in using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an evidenced based approach that is very effective for kids, teens and adults. We use creative interventions to meet your child where they are at so they can build their coping skills in ways that make sense to them. You can schedule a free 15 minute consultation call to learn more about our approach and get set up with one of our wonderful St. Louis therapists!
Searching the web for therapist St. Louis or therapist near me and found Compassionate Counseling St. Louis? Curious to learn more about anxiety and anxiety-driven anger? Reach out to us at hello@compassionatecounselingstl.com. As child anxiety experts, we love working with kids, teens, college students and parents to help manage their anxiety, stress, and anger. Compassionate Counseling St. Louis is located in Clayton, MO and works with families throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ladue, University City, Town and Country, Webster Groves, Creve Couer, Kirkwood, Richmond Heights, and Brentwood. We also provide online therapy Missouri wide to teens and college students. You can set up your first free consult on this website, on our consultation page.