Adapt these ideas as needed for your particular family situation. Take the time to consider and plan for your troubled teens’ needs to create a happier holiday experience for your family.
The holiday season is upon us. That means high expectations coupled with inevitable stress. Your Teen is here to help with tips for setting realistic expectations, suggestions for paying it forward and tools to help prepare for that predictably unpredictable relative. You will gain some tools to survive and thrive during the holidays. And, along the way, the good moments and the bad ones will create important family memories.
Idea #5: Keep up with your teen’s therapy. If your troubled teen is participating in therapy it’s important they continue to do so during the holiday season. Discuss this in advance with your teens’ therapist who may be planning to take time off, if so make a plan for ways to provide therapy to the teen during the holidays. Perhaps arrange for additional sessions before the holiday or immediately afterwards. Or the therapist can assign therapeutic projects to complete during this time. Know how to contact the therapist in case of an emergency during the holidays.
Idea #6: Use this time to evaluate your teens’ troubles. Spending increased time with your troubled teen during the holidays provides information and possibly a different perspective on how your teen is really doing. If their problems or behavior worsen during the holidays this is a warning sign their troubles are serious and would benefit from professional help. Promise yourself that if your teen makes the holidays difficult your New Years’ resolution is to deal with the issues behind your teens’ troubles. Getting your teen the help they need will make next years holiday season a brighter one.
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