Easter Is Illogical

Up until now, we've mostly managed to not have to explain religious holidays or traditions that involve a lot of candy/sugar. Mostly because we're not religious and I also don't see a point in giving my kid tons of candy for no good reason (is there ever a good reason?).

However, we haven't kept him in a bubble, so he knows about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny because of school. He didn't remember the name of Easter, so he was referring to it as "special day."
I finally figured out he was talking about Easter, so I gave him the name and The Little Man asked, "what's that?"
I said, "there's a bunny who gives out eggs and you have to find them."

"No," he said, "bunnies don't lay eggs. Chickens have eggs."

"Yes, I know. Logically, bunnies do not have eggs but for Easter they do for some reason and the eggs are filled with treats."

"Ok," he says, "the eggs will have butterflies in them."

"Fair enough. If bunnies can lay eggs, then it follows that the eggs can have butterflies."

Luckily, the Dollar Store sells little foam butterflies so I will stick some in plastic eggs for him. If that's what the man expects to find then I shall do it!

It probably would have been less trouble to just say no, this is how it is, but it's probably more fun to just encourage his own imagination and play along with it. There's plenty of time as an adult to get your crazy ideas and dreams squashed. 

Using Transitions to Create Traditions

Because changes and transitions can often be more jarring and stressful for those on the spectrum, it's often recommended to plan ahead with lots of warnings and preparation. It's also usually not advised to start something new at the same time.

However, sometimes I feel like one change can make it easier to make another change and use it to piggy-back. For example, right now life is pretty crazy with our move, but we're trying to keep the Little Man's daily routine as stable as possible. We started him at the new daycare (closer to my work and the new place) a week before we move house. On the weekend we will move and after the long weekend, he's back at the new daycare, so not too many changes happen at once.

Now I pick up the Little Man from daycare and bring him home with me and Dada has dinner ready for us. I've used this NEW routine to institute sitting at the table for meals. We've tried this many times and failed, but we know it's possible. So we've been consistent this week about making sure food is on the table as soon as he comes in. He gets washed up and we get to the table as a family. He has no time to get distracted by toys or anything else. It means I sit down and eat a bit even if I'm not that hungry at that time. It means I usually miss my favourite show and pretty much the only TV I watch, Coronation Street. But we are teaching him the lifelong skill of sitting nicely at the table, not kicking anyone, and just eating.

We've been soooo impressed with him! Not only does he sit and eat fairly well (with a lot of prodding) but he has even asked for more some days! It's so nice to see such a change in him. So now we just have to make sure we keep it up once we move, despite the chaos and possibly, lack of kitchen.

Making transitions easier takes planning and consistency. If you want to institute a new routine/habit/tradition, pick something manageable and don't get expectations too high. If it doesn't work this time and causes too much stress, drop it and wait for another time. In the end, our children will learn and cope at their own pace and life isn't a race to the finish!