Wellness Tools to Add to Your Routine This Month

Dear York Prep Community,                                                                          
 
As Parents, it’s important to ensure that our children feel supported throughout all stages of development. This will look differently depending on their age, but building a foundation of skills and consistency, can support healthy outcomes. Below are techniques and recommendations to foster your child’s overall well-being, and build a healthy relationship with them.
 
1) Keep communication open and honest: 
 
It’s important that your child knows they can come to you with any issue, and critical that they are received with love and support. Simply letting them know, regularly, that you are there to listen to them without judgment, will increase their likelihood they’ll come to you when they have a problem. 
2) Talk about emotions and feelings regularly:
 
Children learn so much from watching their caregivers, including how they navigate challenging  emotions and express them. Rather than simply say your day was “OK” or “Fine,” try to discuss different emotions you felt throughout the day. By doing so, you have the opportunity to demonstrate feelings identification, and most importantly, how you managed to problem solve through it. It teaches children that experiencing a range of emotions is normal, while also providing suggestions and options on how to approach them.
 
3) Create a routine and set clear boundaries at home:
 
Uncertainty about day-to-day schedules can create a sense of uneasiness and anxiety in our children’s lives. By creating a general routine, families can better plan for the day, and manage expectations around it. Having clear boundaries (and communicating them) of what is to be expected at home, can help to minimize feelings of frustration for both parents and children.
 
4) Involve them in decision making:
 
As adults, we often feel like we know what is in the best interest of our children, so children are often left out of the decision-making process. Of course, it may be more appropriate for the parent to make the final decision, but including them can make them feel heard, seen and valued. It also helps to elicit problem solving, getting “unstuck,” building confidence, and empowering them with a voice. You can start small by planning out dinner options together or asking them what times they can commit to doing homework.
 
5) Teach and reinforce positive behaviors:
 
 When we want our children to continue positive behaviors, we must praise them when we see them doing it. The idea is to “catch them being good,” and state exactly the behavior you observed that you’d like to reinforce. For example; “I really like the way you put away your coat and sneakers when we returned from school. You are really demonstrating a sense of accountability, thank you for that.” By providing labeled praise in that way, it validates that they’re being seen and appreciated, and they are more likely to continue doing it.
 
6) Play together: 
 
Carve out time to have joyful moments and relate around hobbies you have in common. This supports a healthy attachment/bond, and shared memories. Taking time to put away chores, homework, and other obligations, also demonstrates it’s important to have fun. It’s helpful that a child can see a parent “let go” of their worries, in a healthy way.
 
Looking at our child’s mental health through a preventative lens vs. reactionary one helps to reframe how we relate to our kids. That’s not to say our children won’t experience adversity (they will!), but when they do, they can rely on their secure attachment with you to help them move through it. 
 
Sincerely,
The Wellness Team
 
 
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