We expect the holidays to be one of the happiest times of year for children. But they can also be overwhelming for infants and toddlers, not to mention their parents. Here are some ways to keep the magic in the season.  

The holiday rush can leave families overwhelmed. Kebbin took her two kids, 15-month-old River and 6-year-old Asher, to the mall shopping for a Christmas tree. 

"Things wouldn't go as you hoped,” she said. “You couldn't find the tree.You'd go to the next store. Asher had to go to the bathroom. I think River broke an ornament.”

Children, especially babies, can be easily overstimulated.

“You see kids who start getting more agitated, they melt down. Nothing calms them down. And you oftentimes end up getting real irritated yourself because you're trying to get something done,” said infant and child therapist Joanne Solchany at University of Washington Center on Infant Mental Health.

KING

Children can easily get overstimulated during holiday activities.

She says babies react to your tension. Whether it’s sparked by the holiday rush or divorce, or having a family member gone in the military, you need to take action.

"You really to be thinking about taking care of yourself and getting yourself to the place where you can be the best you can be, because kids really can sense when mom or dad are upset or when they're really sad,” Solchany said. 

She suggests these practical steps to help babies enjoy the holidays:

Keep basic eating and sleeping schedules.

- Take your infant to a quiet place, a time out from festivities.

- Limit the number of gifts a baby is expected to open at once.

- Put the brakes on stress by taking time out to read to your child.

- Set limits on entertaining.

"If you're a parent with a baby who's just starting to enjoy the holidays and people are having all these other expectations of you, put them in charge of those things,” Solchany said. “They can put their own hors d'oeuvres out.”

Kebbin brooks says this year she's trying to slow down and see Christmas through her children’s' eyes. 

Years later, most children recall who was with them for the holidays, not the gifts they received. Some other things that can help babies enjoy the holidays: limit the new food they're exposed to, and hold a baby or toddler on your lap while they're warming up to a relative.