What if Your Child Misbehaves on Christmas Day?

Too much excitement, too little sleep and too many goodies are often enough to make even the most well-behaved children act a little bit less like sweethearts and a little bit more like monsters. Christmas day is a rough day for some kids. The anticipation of Santa’s arrival means they probably received little sleep the night before. All the family parties and Christmas pageants and nights out looking at lights also contribute to a couple of late bedtimes, early wake-ups and grumpy kids. Additionally, we all know the kids are consuming far too much chocolate, sugar and otherwise unhealthy foods in the past week or so, and that just adds to the fact that Christmas day is rough on kids. We’re more than happy to let them binge on cookies and cinnamon rolls and other things that aren’t good for them until dinner is ready, and sometimes they’re downright mean.

But what happens if your kids aren’t behaving on Christmas? It’s a special day, and you really don’t want to ruin it by being the bad parent who upsets the kids. But you also don’t want them thinking they can get away with this type of behavior. You can’t let things go just because it’s a holiday, so we have some tips that will help you with this little issue.

Talk to Your Kids Beforehand

Oftentimes it helps to speak to your kids in advance about their behavior. Sometimes the knowledge of what they can expect if they misbehave on Christmas day is all it takes to keep them in line. A simple reminder when they start to lose it usually helps. Try this; it can’t hurt.

Give One Warning Only

If your kids misbehave on Christmas, give them a warning. Inform them what will happen if this behavior continues and follow through if the behavior does continue. Sometimes all it takes is one punishment to remind children that you mean business and they don’t run the house.

Enforce the Rules

When the kids act up, discipline them. Do what you said you were going to do. If that still does not work, begin taking toys from them and informing them that they will earn them back when their behavior changes for the better. It’s not fun, but you don’t want to end up not enjoying the holiday because the kids can’t behave. If they’re young enough, give them a nap.

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