We just went to New York on our first ever family holiday. Everyone enjoyed it including Miss 6, however she had a few issues with not having comfortable clothing. We put this down to having to wear a lot of layers in the cold and purchased her many new items until she found something she liked. In the week since we came back the problem has gotten a lot worse.
She does not like any of her underwear as it doesn't fit right, we have purchased multiple new ones but none are good enough, and she seems to be progressing to not liking any of her socks, shorts etc etc...
I put this all down to being pushed out of her comfort zone on the holiday and this is her way of gaining some control however it is causing chaos in the house daily. Any tips on how to work through it with her?
2 Replies
I have lots of experience with sensory issues. Firstly youre right she's overwhelmed with input,kind of like when we're lost and trying to concentrate we need the radio down, shes up there on her limit and feeling out of control.
Things you can do to give her control. 1. Make a calm down space. Encourage her to take five and calm down. She can try the undies again after or not but take the pressure off the situation - helping her identify her emotions and know how to calm herself is the most important tool she needs.
When shes trying them. Help her think of the issue and fix it, ie cutting tags, seams, wearing inside out, warm straight from the dryer. Also take the pressure off and let not wearing them be a fine option, also give her a hard grippy massage to desensitize her skin before she gets dressed. Could wrap her in a blanket then do it.
Ask her to try to keep them om for five minutes and see. Ask her to jiggle and star jump and distract by asking her to do something and it could work.
Finally,suggest she packs them and puts them on in the car or once there - they do much better with other people around.
Overall make the whole thing as calm and low pressure as possible. Model calm and problem solving for her.
If no improvement it Wouldn't hurt to go to a doctor as this signals that she is suffering anxiety.
Was it really cold? Maybe that has stirred up some skin sensitivity or something?