Coping with the holiday routine

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Child psychologist Julie Hoke said parents need to set expectations for themselves and their children for the holiday season.

Hoke, of the Austin Child Guidance Center, was in studio on Sunday morning to talk about how to deal with the expectations of children during the holidays, both as it applied to routine and to gift expectations. Explaining gift giving early, and expectations for gifts, can help manage expectations.

Parents typically have good boundaries on their children's demands throughout much of the year. Yet it seems like all those limits are thrown out the window during holiday season, Hoke said.

It's also important to see appropriate limits to holiday events early, Hoke said. Parents and their children can sit down and even set their own holiday schedule together, one that allows for down time. Not every event needs to be a "yes," and parents don't need to feel guilty for saying "no" once in a while.

Some children respond better to structure, Hoke said. So, even during the busy holiday weeks around the holidays, it's sometimes best to maintain some aspects of routine, even if its only eating together at the dinner table every night. That structure can make the holidays easier for parents, too.