How Can You Help Your Child Make The Most Of Festive Times?

What Festivals Can Teach Kids

Festivities and their preparations could bring about major learnings for children that would stay with them throughout their lifetime. Let us look at what do we learn from celebrating festivals.

Bonding | Bonding within the family as well as extended family is one of the first lessons that your children get during festival times. Ensure that the children are meaningfully engaged in family interactions and realise the importance of celebrating festivals with family.

Togetherness | Cohesiveness in celebrating festivals, irrespective of caste, creed or colour. Encourage the concept of inclusion and acceptance in your children.

Helping Others | Encourage your children to help others in whatever way possible. It can be as simple as holding a string of lights or sharing their crackers with the not-so-fortunate ones.

Significance | Festivals are a great time for children to understand their significance and our traditions by way of stories. Understanding what do we learn from celebrating festivals makes it easier for your children to imbibe the customs associated with each festival.

Also Read | How Is Your Parenting Style Impacting Your Child?

In a culturally rich country like India, festivals can bring out grandiosity and vibrancy. There is an eclectic environment of noise, bonhomie and geniality. It is as if time stands still and stressors are put on hold.

Read on to find out what do we learn from celebrating festivals.

Festivities and their preparations could bring about major learnings for children that would stay with them throughout their lifetime.

How Should You Involve Kids?

The outlier to the festivities is children who are not so exuberant, being socially shy, timid or fearful. For them, the melee of festivities can be traumatic or fraught with dread.On the other hand, you may be faced with the demandingness and petulance of your children on being told “no’ for something that they desire. What do you do as a parent in such a scenario? It might be helpful to make them see the importance of celebrating festivals with family. Listed below are the ways to help your children make the most of festival times.

• Involve your children in festive shopping, decorations etc. They can be given an opportunity to choose their outfits, gifts or knick-knacks of decorations for the house.
• Encourage them to help around with cleaning and tidying up their room, cupboards and the house in general. It fosters a sense of proprietary and responsibility in your children.
• Ask your children for help in preparing sweets and savouries as it gives them a choice in menu selection and feasting in addition to being a masterchef for the day.
• Create homemade gifts as DIY activities with your children. It helps in out-of-box thinking, creativity and builds a concept of sustainable development.
• Engage in reminiscence and share your childhood memories of festivals with your children. Involve the grandparents if they are around in your house. Memories are built on moments spent together by families and they can be a treasure trove for the next generation. Ask them what do we learn from celebrating festivals?
• Teach them to be safe in handling fireworks or lighting candles as the eagerness of children can make them careless at times to the risks in festivals.

Also Read | 5 Things You Should Say More Often To Your Teen

Festivals are the times of togetherness, bonding and sharing. Your children are constantly soaking up the information they are exposed to, it becomes important that they understand what do we learn from celebrating festivals.The conversations and activities in a family impact the social, creative and life skills of the children. The onus lies on you as a parent to mark the festivals with a fervour which is inclusive of happiness and fun times for your children too so they grasp the importance of celebrating festivals with family. As kids grow older, they may also like to celebrate festivals with their friends, in which case it is important that they are given the freedom to do so. This will be possible only when the family bonds are strong, trusting and not controlling.

Also Read | 6 Personal Experiences You Must Share With Your Teenager

Dr. Sanjana Seth is a Psychologist and Psychotherapist, registered with RCI, and holds more than two decades of practising experience with the healthcare organisations of the Armed Forces, as well as those operating as private. She is skilled in administering psychological assessments, providing therapeutic intervention and psychoeducation via talks, lectures, workshops, and literary articles. She has worked extensively for children with special needs, and has taught Psychology to students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.