1. Help Your Child Feel Prepared for the Fireworks

For some kids, the 4th of July can feel a little overwhelming, especially if they’re attending a loud, crowded fireworks display that starts at or past their bedtime. When kids know what to expect, they’re better able to handle some of the sensory overload that might happen. Here are some ways you might them prepare:

• Show them your photos of last year’s fireworks or celebrations and talk about what’s happening in each picture
• Go through each of the 5 senses-taste, sound, touch, hearing, smell, and talk about what they might experience in each of these areas.
• Watch a Youtube video together about the 4th of July. This video from the Laurie Berkner band is a fun song about fireworks, and this video shows some kids’ reactions when they see their first fireworks. For older kids, they might be interested in learning more about how fireworks work.

2. Make some fun 4th of July food together

If you want to be the parent who does the Pinterest worthy 4th of July fruit pizza flag, go for it. But this doesn’t have to be complicated. If your child is working on listening and following directions, some other easy ideas you could do together:

• Make a fruit salad. They can help you find the bowl, get the ingredients out of the fridge, add them in the order you say, etc.
• Create a red, white, and blue fruit kabob–add raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, to a wooden or metal skewer. For the white you could try jicama or marshmallows. You could work on 1 step directions, but also make it more difficult for older children with multiple steps like “Put on two blueberries, three raspberries, and one red grape.”
• On the day of your celebration, have your child help you hand out the tableware or food. You can give them directions like “Put a bun on the burger, and give it to Aunt Molly,” or “Please give everyone a plate, fork, and paper cup.”

3. If You’re Attending a Parade or event, Make a Game Out of It

Grab one of these printable Bingo cards from One Creative Mommy, and you’ve got an instant vocabulary and language activity. You can have your child cross off each square with a crayon or marker, or if you want to get fancy they can cover it with a patriotic sticker or stamp.

If your family loves to play games, print out a few different boards and extend the game over your whole 4th of July celebration or weekend.

4. Continue (or Create) a Family Tradition, and Talk About It

For my family, our tradition is to spend the 4th at a lake with family. My own children get to see their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and get to watch the fireworks from a boat.

If your family doesn’t already have an Independence Day tradition, maybe this is the year to start. Check out this list for some ideas. Traditions are a great way to start conversations with your kids about what the tradition means to you, how it started, and what your memories are of it. And as we know, talking to our kids is one of the best ways to help them learn to listen, hear new vocabulary, and understand our speech.

5. Don’t Forget the Hearing Protection

While one of my therapy specialties is working with children who have hearing loss, we want to protect hearing for everyone we can! Noise-induced hearing loss is when someone’s hearing is damaged by loud noises. It is permanent, and unfortunately some 4th of July traditions like fireworks can be especially noisy.

The good news is noise-induced hearing loss is preventable. If you’re attending fireworks or other noisy events, get some hearing protection. If you’re local here in Sioux Falls, Elegant Mommy sells some great hearing protection for both infants and children.

Don’t forget the adults either. Most drugstores sell foam earplugs that can help protect your hearing as well.