12/22/2025
Northern California Children's Therapy Center First 5 Yolo
At Christmas, excitement is expected.
Children are meant to be grateful, joyful, and happy the whole time.
But excitement puts the brain into high alert.
Add pressure to behave, cope, wait, perform, or enjoy every moment — and regulation becomes even harder.
When an excited brain is also carrying expectation, it can tip into overwhelm quickly.
What looks like 'too much' behaviour is often a nervous system that’s had too much input.
This visual explores how excitement affects the brain — and why understanding changes our response.