Christmas hugs, teaching gratitude and coping with holiday stress

Our Lifestyle Panel tackles three holiday issues including; letting kids decide how they want to show affection, teaching gratitude and coping with holiday stress.

• As family and friends gather for the holidays, there will be plenty of reunions and celebrating, but some are suggesting that there should perhaps be fewer hugs from your children. A blog post from the Girl Scouts of America is asking parents not to force their children, particularly their daughters to hug if they don’t want to. Experts suggest that it is more important to allow your children to decide for themselves how they want to show affection, to empower them to create and respect their own personal boundaries and to start the conversation around consent.

• The holiday season usually means mountains of gifts for the youngest family members, plus days off to enjoy all of those new things. But are our children feeling grateful for all that they have?Our parenting experts say the best way to teach gratitude is to show it. Whether it’s verbally or acts of charity outside the home, children will model the behaviours they see from those they love.

• Plus, The joy of the holiday season doesn’t just happen, it usually involves a great deal of work and that can be stressful. But there are ways to prepare and keep the holidays happy for every member of the family. That includes scaling everything back, focusing on the people in your life, and not over-scheduling.The Psychologists Association of Alberta is warning Albertans not to dismiss the Holiday Blues. It can grow into a more serious situation so it’s important to take care of ourselves throughout the season and all year. Eating and sleeping properly, taking breaks and reaching out for help if you’re having a hard time will all help ensure a healthy body and mind.

Our Lifestyle Panel guests include: Dr. Ganz Ferrance, Registered Psychologist with the Ferrance Group; Judy Arnall, certified parent educator with Professional Parenting Canada and Diane Swiatek, founder and director of Banbury Crossroads School in Calgary.