Preparing for Thanksgiving Part 9

This is part 9 of 10 in our series leading up to Thanksgiving by our parent contributor, Beth Lattime. You can check out part 8 here.

Know when you need to leave before behaviors escalate or when you need to decline offers.

         You may only be able to attend social events for a short time. If this is the case, plan ahead and prepare your child, who is averse to attending an event of any kind, for even short stints. It may take negotiating with that child and a significant amount of role playing. It may be helpful for them to Facetime with family members who they have not seen in a while. It may also be helpful for them to take dry runs to the person’s house who will be holding the social gathering. If big crowds are expected, can you introduce your child to the environment with less people? Does it make sense to only come for dessert?
         These are all questions that only you can answer. But, it is worth it to come up with a game plan that shows that you are making an effort to attend social gatherings in a way that makes sense for your family. If you can only Facetime this year because of the stress factors, that by itself should be looked at as an accomplishment. You define accomplishment by the way. No one else does.