Teaching Kids Best Practices in Self Care

All of us can benefit from a healthy self-care regime, kids included. In order to help your children take a holistic approach to their own self-care, you need to model best practices for them in your home environment. This approach shows them that prioritizing themselves has positive results and is a healthy way to live life. Nutritious eating that’s fun and tasty should be at the center of a self-care plan. Zeek Bar kids protein bars can get you started on the right foot!

What Is Self-Care?

Self-care means different things to different people, but it is essentially about prioritizing yourself in terms of your health, exercise, nutrition, and mental and emotional well-being. You can help your children develop strategies that work best for them. For one child, that might mean time spent every day reading in solitude; for another, it might mean painting or playing an instrument. The key to self-care is doing something that helps facilitate relaxation and a sense of centering rest and respite.

Ideas for Kids

According to Cosmic Kids, children are never too young to get started on the path toward healthy stress relief activities like yoga, meditation, or gratitude journaling. In fact, these are good introductions to the practice of self-care. Artistic expression or listening to music are other ways kids can reduce stress and step outside of themselves when life feels overwhelming. You can help your kids learn best practices in this area by being a role model and participating yourself. While it’s great to share what works for you, make sure your child’s self-care measures are uniquely attuned to their individual needs.

Modeling Healthy Practices

Kids learn from their parents, and as such, they emulate what they see you do. If you're facing burnout at work and you're a small business owner, demonstrate healthy coping techniques. Limiting your distractions, delegating tasks, and tackling larger tasks in the morning are all ways to ensure you're addressing work priorities that need to be handled without over-stressing and over-burdening yourself. Share with your kids how you're approaching this and explain how this makes a difference in the way you feel. Help them apply similar approaches to their stressors, like classwork.

Create a Family Exercise Routine

Whether it's an evening walk after dinner, regular bike riding, or even dancing in the living room, you can help your kids understand the ways physical activity can have a positive impact on their mental and physical health and well-being. Exercise shouldn't be seen as a chore, but rather, as something you do as a favor to yourself and your body. Getting in physical activity as a family can promote bonding. Joining a sports league or taking up a physical hobby like biking, hiking, or swimming can be both healthful and fun self-care measures.

Eat Well

Just as exercising as a family can be fun, so can shopping for healthy foods and collectively meal prepping. Encourage your kids to seek out new recipes, shop together at farmer’s markets and health food stores for nutritious ingredients, and come together to create both unusual and family favorite meals. According to KidsHealth.org, not only is this an opportunity to impart information about best nutrition practices, it can also be a great interactive family experience. Write menus, learn about the cultures behind different types of foods, and encourage kids to expand their horizons and palettes by trying new items they’ve never tasted before.

Talk About It

Some families don’t talk about topics like anxiety or burnout, but being open and honest about the subject makes it easier to identify, normalize, and manage. Kids are under more stress today than ever before, from a barrage of digital social mediums and “noise” to social uncertainties about the world around them. Acknowledging this is a gift, and lets them know they aren’t alone. It also opens the door to healthy ways to cope, which will be beneficial throughout their lives. Of course, if your kids are having above-average difficulties, consult your pediatrician for guidance.

The world has become a stressful place for humans of every age, and self-care is absolutely essential to good mental, physical, and emotional health. If your kids see you getting visibly stressed, they are likely to follow suit, but at the same time, if you model healthy self-care practices, they're sure to follow that direction as well.

Adding Zeek Bars to your family’s menu is a great way to teach kids that good nutrition can taste great! With all-natural ingredients and flavors like Brownie Blast Off and Cosmic Cookie Dough, what’s not to love?

 
 - Anya Willis
______________

Anya Willis is a mother of three and has been a yoga instructor for the past 12 years. For most of her childhood Anya struggled with her weight. She was a bookworm since the moment she could read, and had zero interest in physical activity. In school, she was bullied because of her weight, and it wasn’t until she took a yoga class in college that things started to change. She fell in love with how yoga used her whole body and mind. For Anya this was the catalyst she needed, she found a new interest in her physical health and started striving for a healthier life. Reflecting on her younger years, Anya became passionate about kids being active and healthy. Learn more about Anya at fitkids.info