The holidays can be a very exciting time for young children; so why do they so often dissolve into fits around this time of year? Simply put, out-of-the-ordinary behavior problems are usually due to the child being tired, hungry, or over-stimulated. You can avoid these conditions, and therefore avoid the fits that go with them, by striving to maintain regularity during this special season.

Make sure your child gets enough sleep. With all the excitement of Christmas and New Year’s, it’s easy to accidentally let your child’s sleep schedule slip. It’s important to keep your schedule as close to normal as possible. Try not to let your child stay up too late, as most young children will wake up early regardless of what time they go to bed. If it can’t be helped, however, you might try sneaking in an extra-long nap to compensate for the lost sleep time. And most importantly, don’t let that nap slide if your child is accustomed to getting it; a lost nap will bring fits galore later in the evening.

Make sure your child is getting regular meals and snacks. Even if you’re out shopping, it’s important to make sure that your child is able to eat when he or she is accustomed to. A hungry child’s temper almost always erupts when you least need the added chaos, such as when you’re in the checkout line in the store.

Maintain other pieces of your normal schedule as much as possible. Keeping a schedule is important because it helps children to deal with transitions throughout the day, and they typically do not do well with changes. If your child is used to playing outside at a certain time, or a special event on a certain day, stick to it if possible. Also, shopping is generally not part of your child’s daily routine, so try to arrange for a babysitter. We all know how a child can spoil a shopping trip that they don’t want to be a part of! Remember, it’s important to keep your child’s excitement from getting out of hand, because over-excited also means over-stimulated, and that will inevitably result in meltdown.