Holidays are stressful, frenetic times for people of all ages, including young children. That’s why Executive Director Lisa Hayworth talked with WGHP Fox 8 News’ Cindy Farmer about soothing lighting for little ones during a recent Mommy Matters segment.
During the holiday season, we may have a few extra strands of lights in our homes. They can also be readily found in stores and are often inexpensive.
High quality early learning programs understand how magical lighting can be in calming and soothing our children, so why not try some things at home to create calming and comforting environments?
In early learning classrooms, default lighting is often stark fluorescent lights, installed overhead. Educators have learned how there is a correlation between bright or stark lighting and the energy levels of children. The brighter the light, the higher the energy.
And this may be perfect for certain activities. But, if an early educator or a parent is dealing with high anxiety – such as we often experience during the holidays – things that bring anxiety levels down are critical.
A great strategy: turning off the overheads and using natural lighting, by opening blinds or draperies, or low lighting, by incorporating lamps, string lights, or fairy lights, for example.
These lighting techniques:
- Help provide a calming environment
- Help children focus and not be super high energy or anxious
- Can provide calming effects for the parent and other family members, too
Holidays are great time to experiment. Try these ideas to bring soothing lighting into your child’s environment:
- Fairy lights in a Mason jar
- String lights around a plant or tree branch
- Experiment with different ways to create a homey space for the children (plants, pillows, blankets)
- Lights can also be great learning tools:
- Talk about their different colors
- Play with the shadows they cast
You might find these techniques so effective and eye-pleasing that you keep the lighted mason jars and branches long past December!
