Holiday Stress and Kids: Tips for Busy Moms

Martin's Point Health Care offers seven simple steps for the holiday season

The holiday season has arrived and for most families that means decorating the house, baking treats and shopping until you drop. But holidays can bring more than fun-filled activities, delicious food and special gifts... they can create stress. And in today's society, the kids are feeling it too.

"The whirlwind holiday madness, although exciting, can have a negative impact on children if parents aren't careful," said John Vogt, practice medical director at Martin's Point Health Care, a comprehensive primary care practice group with four clinics in Maine and New Hampshire

Martin's Point has compiled a list of seven simple steps for parents to help their kids beat holiday stress:

• Healthy Nutrition. Try to plan at least one healthy, homemade meal every day. And don't let your guard down with snacks... a nutritious snack can help a child function much more smoothly through a long afternoon of shopping at the mall.
  
  
• Limit Computer, TV and Video Games. Children who are experiencing some stress usually need more physical activity. Encourage your kids to bundle up and play outside. If you have younger ones, make time for a walk. The fresh air can work wonders.
  
  
• Routines are Worth Remembering. If possible, skip unnecessary activities or tag-team as parents. Have one parent do the shopping or run the errands while the other stays home to keep things status quo. It can make a big difference.
  
  
• Time-Honored Traditions. Family traditions can provide great security and comfort at a time when things are a bit crazy. Look for meaningful activities to do as a family.
  
  
• Take an Attitude Assessment. Pledge to make the holiday season a time of love and peace, not a time focused on material goods and gifts. Remind everyone that a healthy attitude can create happiness for all.
  
  
• A Little Rest & Relaxation. "Time Outs" are not just for kids any more. Time spent alone reading, sitting in the bathtub, or on a walk will work wonders in quieting the mind. Rest assured, carving out some quiet time is well worth it.
  
  
• Make 'em Laugh. Hands down laughter is still the number one way to relieve stress at any age. Laugh it up with your kids and their mood will shift from good to bad in no time.

Help your kids enjoy the holiday season by creating wonderful, stress-free memories that they will carry with them for a lifetime and pass own to their own children someday.

The Martin's Point Health Education Center offers a variety of resource materials, such as publications and videos, and classes that focus on a host of topics, ranging from stress reduction and smoking cessation to disease management.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. Martin's Point has a staff of more than 350 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients ö including military retirees and dependents of active military personnel - under all major health plans. Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, mammography, and other fields.

For additional information on Martin's Point Health Care, visit online at www.martinspoint.org

# # #



RESOURCES: REDUCING STRESS

An array of information about reducing stress in kids is available on the Internet and from books and magazines. Here's a sampling:

On the Internet
www.familyeducation.com

www.ivillage.com/topics/parenting/

www.helping.apa.org/

The Martin's Point Health Education Center at 331 Veranda St. in Portland has a resource library featuring an array of books, videos and audiocassettes available for check out to the general public. Information about reducing stress includes:

Books
"Stress, Diet, and Your Heart"
"Stress for Success"
"The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook"

Videos
"Stress and Anxiety"
"The Joy and Stress"
"Saving for Stress"
"A Day Away from Stress"

Audios
"Just Relax"
"Refreshing Journeys - Mini Meditations"