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Why do our kids melt down, act out, or regress during the holiday season? Listen to our conversation with Dr. David Adams to learn what is going on and what you can do about it to make this holiday season more enjoyable for you all. He is an adoptive and foster dad, a licensed psychologist, and a licensed professional counselor. He is the Founding Director and President of New Life Psychology Group in Laguna Hills, California, and an expert trainer of Foster and Kinship Care Education (FKCE) at Saddleback College. He has also recently written and released the book, Trauma-Informed Foster and Adoptive Parenting: Methods for Managing Meltdowns, Mishaps, and Maladaptive Behaviors.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What are some of the reasons that holidays are hard for children who are adopted or are in foster care?
- What kind of behaviors do parents and caregivers commonly see that are likely related to those challenges around holidays?
- Sleep challenges
- Feeding challenges
- Increased anxiety, fear, insecurity
- Impulsivity
- Dysregulation (louder than usual, bigger emotional response than normal for this child)
- How do these behaviors relate to the reasons holidays are hard for our kids? What’s the connection between that outward behavior and the internal need or hurt?
- Can you provide us with a few practical strategies for addressing these behaviors? Let’s break them down by age:
- Toddler and preschoolers
- School-aged children
- Tweens and Teens (into young adults)
- What trauma-sensitive preparations or preventative actions can we take to minimize the challenging behaviors and help our kids feel safe, supported, and able to find healing?
- What is compassion fatigue? What signs should we look for to help us identify our risk during this holiday season?
- Strategies to help parents and caregivers plan now for a less-stressful holiday season.
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