Saturday, December 10, 2011

Holidays and ADD

As I wrapped the last Christmas gift a little bit ago, I was in deep thought over how birthdays and holidays affect my son.  Since I was in such deep thought, I wasn't paying attention and I dropped the Millennium Falcon, and it made all kinds of noise.  My son, who was supposed to be asleep, in his room, with the door closed (note, my door is closed too) heard the noise.  I hear him pop out of bed, open his door, start banging on my door WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE MOMMY.  Oh, I'm really tired I'm sleeping.  NO YOU ARENT, YOU'RE PLAYING WITH TOYS!!!! That one's a smart one he is.  Go back to bed. lol  How can he hear this through two closed doors, yet he can't hear me say his name when I'm sitting right next to him?

I don't talk much about my children, so most all of you don't know my son has ADD.  Birthdays and holidays are very hard on him.  There are so many new things, and he wants them all open right now.  RIGHT NOW.  Patience is something we have been working long and hard on, but it does not come easy to him.  His mind jumps forward too fast, and he can't stay focused, especially when faced with new toys.  I know I should be looking forward to Christmas, and cherishing the fact this is my last baby being so excited for Santa to come.  But honestly, I'm dreading our Christmas morning.  He's meticulous about not tearing wrapping paper, so it takes him a while to open anything.  He then wants to study it for a minute.  I have no problem with this, I don't rush him, he does things at his own pace.  The problem always comes when he is done unwrapping everything and borderline freaks out because he can't decide what to play with first.  It's too much for him.

This year, I finally got smart.  Most everything can be played with together.  This is going to eliminate some of the short attention span/focus problem, and being overwhelmed for him.  There of course are some other educational things, and his favorite, clothes.  But for the most part everything can be played with together, and I think this is really going to make this Christmas morning so much easier for him.  In birthdays and Christmases past, I have gotten in the habit of opening boxes to get guys/cars/whatever it is out to be one step ahead of him.  This has also helped a lot.

I have been a parent a long time.  What worked with one child did not work with the others.  My son has been my biggest challenge to find what works with him.  But he and I understand each other.  I can find what works for him because I relate.  There is too much "excitement" this time of year for him anyway, it overwhelms him to easy.  We have quiet down time to try to help with that.  Reading is his new passion, so we read a lot.  I will be happy when the holidays are over though, so we can get back to our normal schedule.

And just in case you didn't catch it up at the top of this blog, that's right, all my wrapping is done. I just felt the need to make sure you knew this :)

1 comment:

  1. If the speed of your purchasing and wrapping is any indication, the rest of it'll be done in a flash, too!

    We haven't done anything for the holidays yet this year. Last year, I didn't buy gifts for Hanukkah at all, but Li'l D got plenty from his grammas. This year, I'm thinking of buying a handful of small things for Hanukkah, but I'm waaay behind you in all these regards. I'm sure I'll have something figured out in the 12/2x range. ;)

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