Strollerderby : holiday stress

Your Holiday-Stress Affects Your Kids

Karen Murphy — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:33:00 GMT

Hey! Isn't it great to know that everything you do is watched by people who file every little thing away in their huge complicated computers?

And no, I'm not talking about these annoying people who make studies that blame all our kids' problems on the parents. No, I'm talking about your kids. Our kids, because we all have the same situation: kids pick up on what we are feeling in everything we do and are affected by it.

Hmm, I'm not sure why this is exactly news. After all, you're affected by how people around you feel, right? So of course kids are. And the stress that comes around this time of year, they feel that too.

Me, I feel some weird internal pressure to create an event this time of year that everyone will be happy with, to create magic for my kids, so I worry about anal little things like which wrapping paper to use on certain packages, and whether Santa's handwriting should look a whole lot different from mine, and where the hell is Santa going to find the SAME little chocolate Santas to hide them around the house for the kids to find, and, and, and.... And I realize that this is wholly an internal pressure and likely the kids don't care that much, but on the other hand, kids are tied to and grounded by family traditions, samenesses they can count on from year to year, and frankly there's already a whole lot of upheaval in their lives as it is so I'm reluctant to let go of those traditions just yet, but managing them is, you know, stressful.

And kids feel that.

Obviously, there can be tradeoffs. And it's not like I go to the crazy lengths that I hear of some families doing, either ("Reindeer tracsks! On the roof! C'mon kids, let's go look!"), but on the whole I like to think more about time spent together and less about things that don't matter that much, like which cookies we make. Or even if we make them at all.

So if you're looking to create a holiday that's less about stress and more about your family, there are some ideas here. The ones I like were these:

1. Find out what aspects of past holidays your kids liked best. The things they think of as important may not be what you thought.

2. Let the kids do more of the work. Oh, I am so on this one. If they want cookies? They'll have to make them.

3. Be sure to get outside a bit. Excellent idea; we forget that in colder weather. Bundle 'em up and shove 'em out the door.

So, what do you think? What have you backed off on, in the interest of preserving your holiday sanity? Or do you go all-out?

Safer Toys Holiday Shopping Guide

Alisyn — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:03:00 GMT

Recall Fever has made 2007 a scary one. And with the hoilday season heading barreling towards us like a runaway train, millions of parents, myself included, find themselves in the precarious positioin of trying to balance holiday gift giving - and receiving - with toy safety, something we've never really had to think about in previous years. Not an easy feat when you consider the fact that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled more than 70 brands of toys for a total of more than 25 million products. It's enough to make your head spin like an imported, lead-painted top.

What are we going to do? First thing's first: keep up to date with which toys are being recalled at the Consumer Product Safety Commission Page. Be firm with well-meaning friends and family about which safe toys, and toy alternatives, they can buy for your little ones. It may feel a little weird to pass out lists of pre-approved holiday gift ideas, but what else can we do? At this point it's all about our kids' safety, and using our consumer power for good instead of evil.

Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide 200 7 is a great site to visit for safer toy suggestions. The Not Quite Crunchy Parent came up with some excellent toy alternatives. The People's Media Company has taken this years top toy trends and united them with cheaper (or free!) alternatives.

Shopping for kiddie gifts this year will require a little more diligence than we're used to, but it can be done. That being said, though, there's never been a stronger arguement for a back-to-basics, gift-free or homemade-gifts-only holiday season... it sure would get the message across that we, as parents, are mad as hell about the incredibly dangerous "toys" being marketed to our kids, and that we aren't going to take it anymore.

Open Your Mouth: What's Cooking in the Holiday Aftermath

Patti — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 12:04:00 GMT

"Open your mouth" is one of the first things we say to our children, moments after their birth. We say it when we're introducing them to solids, we say it to toddlers when they seem to be hiding something not-quite-edible in there, we combine it with "...and just try a bite, please!" to encourage stubborn preschoolers to give up their food prejudices. Food is so important to health, to happiness, to social interaction, and the habits we instill in our children need to last a lifetime. So let's open wide.

This week we've got the traditional Easter dinner coming up at my place: ham, potatoes, a few vegetables. Nothing groundbreaking, with the exception of this savory bread pudding with asparagus posted at 101 Cookbooks that I've been dying to try, that should fly pretty high with the family. It can be made in advance, so tomorrow I'll be able to focus more on getting everything else to time right.

And the week ahead? Leftovers, baby!

One night I'll be making a big pan of fried rice using leftover ham and vegetables. This is one of my favorite go-to meals to repurpose leftovers, which I'm sorry to say I'm not really great at using up. My not-so-traditional, but fast and pretty tasty method is here and I'll make the rice for it either the night before. And speaking of leftovers, I have a little bit of lamb envy over here--Break The Cycle's got lamb on the menu for Easter and anticipates the leftovers in pita the next day. A little tomato, a little onion, a little tzatziki...maybe mini-pitas for the kids? Maybe next year.

I'll be fixing a Salade Niçoise to clear our palates from the heavier traditional American holiday fare, and incidentally to use up some of the many, many hard-boiled eggs in my refrigerator. I picked up some nice tuna steaks to sear and slice, but packed tuna is fine, too. My incredibly finicky four-year-old recently decided to like fish, so I'm going to chase that train as far as it will lead us.

Niçoise or not, I really do have approximately two dozen hardboiled eggs left, after a week of eating egg salad every day. I'll be indebted to Kalyn and her collection of ways to get them eaten. That's going to account for at least one more meal this week, and this salad will definitely show up because I've got some serious tomato lovers in this house.

Also on the menu: Gnocchi (storebought) with vodka marinara (homemade) and a big green salad, and skillet-barbecued chicken breasts with steamed broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes.

What's in your mouth this week?

Cure Your Holiday Stress Today

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:41:00 GMT

In a clever post, Momish discusses what ails us this holiday season: Holiday Histrionics Disorder -- a diagnosis with the following symptoms:

Feeling keyed up or on edge, with the inability to distinguish between meaningful and insignificant issues (eminent bankruptcy vs. broken tree ornaments)
Obsessive concern and worry over lists
Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank, forgetfulness
Impatience, irritability displayed in crowded public places
Sudden aggressive or violent emotions (mostly directed towards seasonal retail help and/or significant other)
Intense aversion to the colors green and/or red (except regarding foods or drinks)
Constant worry or depression over weight gain

To this excellent list I'd add:

Desire to harm Salvation Army bell ringers coupled with deeply mean thoughts about church ladies and cheerful people
Inability to envision Peace on Earth
End of the World starting to seem "ok."

If you or your loved ones are suffering from abnormally high levels of holiday stress, here are some quick cures, in order of effectiveness:

Sex on the kitchen floor -- yes it's often uncomfortable, but you'll feel wild and young after you do it
Mimosas -- morning alcohol that is socially appropriate. Need I say more?
Chocolate
Teach your children to say funny things in LOUD voices in PUBLIC places (e.g., "Mom - Why are Republicans going to Hell? Is it because they don't care about poor people?")
Walk by grocery check-out and secretly make fun of everyone who buys "People"

And you? What are your solutions to holiday stress?