Back to school for many means back to the wilderness of stuff that children carry around! I am on a journey to care for my family’s wellness in more holistic and natural methods and I wanted to share a few ideas on how you can give your child the best start to their school year.
1. Promote Calm and Reduce Stimulation
In today’s fast-paced world, parents are overstressed, children are over-scheduled, and everyone seems a bit frazzled, which leads to everyone suffering. A child’s body has the same response to stress that an adult’s body does – their cortisol and adrenaline rises. When this elevation in stress hormones is sustained, their immune system’s response can be lowered.
It’s important for children to have lots of downtime, time for creative play, and simply times of rest. A busy body needs to take a break every now and then for the immune system to thrive. I love to incorporate quiet time during the day – just time for everyone to take a chill – eliminating the constant stimulation that can be so taxing on our bodies.
2. Consume Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins and minerals, as well as other nutrients to boost your child’s health. Having them in your daily menu will help the body to use those nutrients to function at its best. Keeping these items in lunchboxes and also incorporating them into after school snacks will give the body what it needs.
3. Make Hygiene a Way of Life
Washing their hands with soap is a very good start. Always do it before having meals, after using the bathroom, after playing, and after handling pets. We love our Thieves Waterless Hand Sanitizer because it doesn’t have Triclosan. Regular antibacterial hand sanitizers, which contain Triclosan, are not what I want to be using on my kids. Triclosan has been linked to endocrine disruption, hormone regulation disruption, immune system function disruption, and skin irritation. Keeping things clean and sanitized doesn’t technically boost immunity, but it’s a great way to reduce stress on your child’s immune system.
4. Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep can lead to stress on the body. Having a good bedtime routine in place will allow enough downtime to get everyone settled and relaxed before it is lights out. If your child enjoys a bath or shower in the evening, it can work to your benefit by calming the body down. Reading, having story time, and sharing a little bit about your day are all ways to connect before bedtime. Allowing children at least 8-10 hours for a good night’s sleep is beneficial for their body. We love a little Lavender Essential Oil in the diffuser – perfect to reset the body for rest.
5. Do Exercises or Outdoor Activities
As the days get shorter it is even more important to get everyone outside to exercise and get some fresh air. Playing outside together as a family can be fun and engaging and build strong relationships, but it also provides the benefit of fresh air and will increase your child’s endurance. Playing soccer, hiking, and swimming are examples of exciting activities you can enjoy together. This will also help with a restful night’s sleep.
6. Maintain Your Child’s Gut Health
Probiotics are the friendly helpful bacteria that naturally occur in our guts. They promote a healthy digestive tract, help us to digest food, assist in toxin clearance, and keep our bodies in balance. When this bacterial balance becomes disrupted in children, we can see changes in a child’s ability to maintain normal health.
There is also research done showing how temperament can be affected by gut health – this is something every parent should read up on. I would suggest looking for a great probiotic that you can give to your child daily. We take Young Living’s Life 5, and love it.
Simple habits, right? Yet, you probably don’t recognize how important they are for your child’s overall health and wellness. Let’s get everyone off to a successful start to the school year!
