healthy mindset – Happymomblogger

School season is upon us and for some of us around the country, school has already started! Whether or not your kids are ready to get back to school, there are some important things to remember before the school year starts, and that’s detoxing our kids.

What do you think about when you hear the word, “detox”? Alcohol? Late night snacking? Or video gaming? If you have school-aged kids, you probably wholeheartedly agree with me about the video game part. Kids need as much “detoxing” as adults do when they’ve been immersed into activities and situations that can harm them later. While not as extreme as it can be for a grownup, kids need downtime to get back to a regular routine for school.

Back to school can be a stressful time for kids, no matter the age. Their sense of freedom and self-reliance that they experienced during summer may seem to suddenly disappear once school starts. But school time is actually the best time to teach children about independence and self assurance. We all want our kids to succeed so getting them prepped ahead of time for a big event such as the start of school, is important in preventing meltdowns and arguments. One of the best ways of getting kids ready for the school year is helping them detox from all the non-stop action during summer. Though summer can be a fun time for kids, it could also be stressful for parents who worry what to do with their kids while they’re at work. Therefore, summer detoxing can help both parents and children.

Reduce Anxiety – school anxiety might be one of the biggest concerns for children. Depending on the age, children worry about all sorts of things before school starts. In this day and age, society expects a lot more from children than years before. This transfers to parents expecting more as well as school administrators. Help reduce school anxiety by following these steps at Parents.com.
Have a Morning Routine – getting your kids ready for school in the morning can be easy or herculean. But setting a routine for school days is important for both kids and parents. Just as adults have their own routine set for going to work or going about their day, kids need the same set of routine so that they have one less thing to worry about. Parents.com provides some great tips here.
Have a Nighttime Routine – just as important as a morning routine, so is a nighttime routine. Kids of any age would love to challenge you in how long they get to stay up at night. But studies show that school-aged children need the proper amount of sleep for proper brain and body growth. Plus, who wants a groggy and tired kid in the morning when you’re trying to hustle them out the front door?
Set Up a Homework Station – students as young as kindergarten are starting to get homework. Yeah, crazy right? We are in a society where success is highly measured and the education system is pushing students to learn as much as they can and teachers to cram as much info as they’re told to do. So help prevent homework anxiety by setting up a homework station for your kids. The station helps keep school supplies organized and easy to reach. Keep the station at a visible area so kids can go to it easily. Rotate the supplies throughout the year based on needs and desires by the kids and teachers.
Set Playtime Limits – play time is just as important for children as school. We live in a world where we can play with practically anything. And depending on the household, technology seems to be a major playtime factor for children. But too much screen time can actually harm children. Set time limits on your child’s screen time but be sure to include extra time for schools that require computer access. Get your rules set early and way before school starts so they know what to expect and can transition to optimal learning opportunities. For some great tips, read the article here at Greatschools.org.
Early Learning – if you gave your child tasks to read or learn math during the summer, than kudos to you! Kids can have anxiety about their teachers and what they’re learning in their class(es). If you want to prevent the “summer gap”, then get your kids some reading material and help them study up on what they’re going to learn in their new grade. Being prepared is never a bad thing and the more your students know what to expect in their new grade, the more confident they will be during the first few weeks of school.
Healthy Food – if summer time was meant for snacking throughout the day or having carefree meal times, then now is the best time to get your kids back to a healthier eating routine. Healthy food such as fruits and vegetables gives kids the best opportunity for learning. Their brains are fueled with the proper nutrition so that they can pay attention in class and won’t get overly tired by the time they get back home. Pack healthy snacks and lunches during school days and eat a healthy dinner as well. For some great lunch and snack ideas, check out Greatschools.org here.

It’s important to remember that every family situation is different but we all want our children to have a fun, safe, and successful school year. Getting kids ready for back to school shouldn’t be a hurdle that causes more stress. But it’s equally important to acknowledge that once school starts, it’s not too late to start a routine in your household. Use the tips from above and seek online help from experts. Talk to your kids about what you expect throughout the school year. Talk to their teachers and school administrators. And most importantly, set a guideline and routines that ease their minds knowing that you are there to love and support them no matter what.

For more info about getting ready for back to school, check out articles from:

Happy back to school and best of luck for the school year!

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When Queen Elsa sang, “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen, she was finally learning a hard lesson in life that many of us non-cartoon people have a hard time doing in real life. Like the song title, letting go can be both a blessing and a curse. But it’s how we approach it that makes us become better people and live a healthier life. Think of the alternative to holding onto things that we really shouldn’t hold on to. We end up feeling drained both physically and mentally and our entire being is literally exhausted.

Most people commit to a new year’s resolution each year, whether it be to save more money or exercise more. But on the top of almost every list is the resolution to be healthier. Being healthy isn’t limited to eating right and exercising regularly. While that may be part of the whole process for our body, we really need to start with our mind first. Our minds connect us to everything within our bodies and it’s important to remember that a healthy thought process brings forth a healthier body and soul.

I’ve put together a list of things we can do now to have less stress and (hopefully) change our mindset on things. Letting go isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just learning how to let go of things that suck us of our energy and make us feel ill mentally, emotionally, and physically.

– Let go of small transgressions: From the man who cut you off on the freeway to the parent at your school who can’t tell their own kids to behave, there are always those little things that irk us. But in order to let it go, we can’t take things so personally all of the time. Life is too short to hold onto the small offenses of others. Sometimes other people really don’t know better and if we don’t let it bother us, then we can move past it quicker.

– Let go of past hurt: This one can be tough because being “hurt” means differently for everyone. Whether you hold on to grudges or resentment or it’s a past relationship, holding onto things that hurt your heart and your soul can significantly damage your health. This type of not letting go bears tremendous pressure on your stress level which in turn puts pressure on your organs. Sometimes our mind won’t let us go of past hurt and that’s when we have to remind ourselves that the past truly should stay in the past.

– Let go of what you can’t control: In a perfect world that would probably be pretty easy to do, right? Well, since we live in reality, we have to tell ourselves that sometimes things happen because they happen. Perhaps we could have prevented the harmful outcome and perhaps not. But the best thing to do after that is to learn from it and move on. It’s okay to be cautious and to try and prevent negative outcomes, but when there are times that something disappoints us or we have a hard time moving forward, remind yourself of that old saying, “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade”.

– Meditation: I am a true believer of meditation. I’ve been meditating for over 20 years now and although I don’t have enough time to meditate every day like I used to, I still try to include it into my daily routine as much as possible. Meditation releases the body of toxins, helps to clear your mind of negative thoughts, and improve sleep and attention. To truly learn the art of meditation, make sure your mind is completely clear before and during meditation. If any thoughts sneak in, remember this mantra: I will succeed…I will succeed.

– Find something that can change our perspective: Perhaps we feel anger at always running late to work or we’re always doing tons of laundry during the week, try to find a new perspective on how to resolve these time and energy zappers. It could be as simple as laying out our clothes the night before or finding a new route to get to work. And instead of having to separate colors in the wash, invest in laundry detergent that can wash whites, dark, and colors all in one load.

– Find ways to unload our stress: Writing is one of the best ways of letting our frustrations out. As most writers will tell you, writing is a form of catharsis where we direct our anger, sadness, and hurt onto paper or a computer screen in most cases. Next time you feel like you just want to punch something, take pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and just write it out. It doesn’t matter if you’re grammatically incorrect, just write out whatever is on your mind or feeling. And then, delete the whole thing. Keeping it around just reminds us of the anger if we are prone to reading it later.

– Let go of inconsequential relationships: This may sound harsh, but sometimes there are people out there who negatively affect our well-being. We don’t want to be around those people, so do your best to stay away from them. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you meet that one person who just makes you feel completely drained after just a few minutes of being in their presence. There’s nothing wrong to untie that insignificant bond because we are after all, learning to let go of negative things and that includes non-committed relationships.

– Find the reason why you can’t let go: Sometimes we just can’t let go, no matter what. But that’s the wrong approach to actually letting go. Thinking that we can’t let it go is already negatively planting the idea in your head. Start by writing down what it is that’s truly causing you stress and mental pain. Then write down solutions on how to stop it or change it. Make changes for the better and see yourself positively. Finding out the reason why you’re stuck in that mindset can help set us free eventually.

Remember that we are our own advocate. No one can dictate how we should feel or how we should act. As adults, it’s up to us to make things better and healthier for ourselves. When we learn to take care of ourselves first, then we can help others see the positive as well.

Have a happy and healthy new year!

*photo courtesy of Delicious Living magazine