Helping Kids Thrive at Back to School Time

At this time of year I find every adult I meet asks my boys “Are you excited for Back to School?” to which they always respond – “No.” The adult then has a surprised look and changes the subject. Do my boys hate school? No. But their feelings fall somewhere between looking forward to seeing friends and fear about what their class/teacher/homework will be like.

I don’t remember being nervous for back to school but I’m sure I must have been. Transitions are hard for kids and while some love the challenge of a school year, that certainly isn’t the experience for all.

To better understand what it means to be helping kids thrive we’ve teamed up with Michele Kambolis who is a 20-year veteran as a Child and Family Therapist and Doctoral level researcher in Mind-Body Medicine. Michele skillfully combines her knowledge of parenting, positive psychology and neuroscience to create tools for change. She is the founder of Chi Kids, and her book, Generation Stressed: Play-Based Tools to Help Your Child Overcome Anxiety, has been endorsed by leading psychologists worldwide as it has revolutionizes the way we parent ourselves and our children.

 

Helping Kids Thrive at Back to School Time

Sleep is critical to helping kids thrive at back to school time and anytime. Ensuring they get a good solid sleep will allow your kids to wake up refreshed and more resilient. Just like adults, we know that lack of sleep makes everything harder during the day and this is compounded by the busy lives our children lead.

Here are 5 tips to help your child (and you) be well on your way to the rest you need:

• Take a close look at your sleep attitude.  Valuing sleep and modeling a healthy relationship with sleep can go a long way towards teaching your child that sleep is an important part of their health.
• Create a regular sleep schedule.  While we all want to hang on to the longer days of summer, programming your child’s sleep routine well in advance of school will make those first few weeks much easier.
• Put technology to be well before your child.  Putting I pads and computers away an hour-and-a-half before bed will help ensure your child’s brain system is calm, relaxed, and ready for sleep.  The contingent feedback from screens is brain activating and the blue light from the screens interferes with the production of the sleep inducing neurochemical melatonin.
• Soothe your child with calming mindfulness activities.  Deep breathing, visualizing a calming scene or listening to a mindfulness recording can prompt your child’s brain that ‘it’s time to go to sleep’.  In time this calming routine becomes so natural and engrained that falling asleep becomes seamless.
• Ensure your child is comfortable and dry throughout the night.  When children wake up with wet PJ’s it can interrupt the sleep that is so critical to their ability to cope at school during the day.  Just think, interrupted sleep can contribute to lack of focus, irritability and even serious health concerns.  For nighttime wetter’s the solution is simple; use super absorbent Goodnites Bedtime Pants to help ensure your child gets the full nights sleep they need.

For more tips and information follow Goodnites on social media:  Facebook: Facebook.com/GoodNites Twitter: @GoodNites  Instagram: @GoodNites_Brand

What is your top tip for helping kids thrive at back to school time?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own.