Back-to-school season tends to bring about mixed emotions. Parents are eager for their kids to get back into a routine and kids may feel excited to reunite with friends. It’s also possible to feel a little sad about saying goodbye to the good times of summer. That is true for family members of any age, not just the kids.

Many children also experience back-to-school jitters. Perhaps they are worried about what the school year will bring or how they will fit in. Parents may wonder how to calm those nerves and help their children better navigate this busy time in their lives. In an effort to mitigate those back-to-school jitters, you can get your kids involved in various processes. Asking them to participate in various tasks can help distract them and increase their responsibility requirements. Here are a few ways to prep tips as kids head into the school year. 

Create Family Mindfulness Routines 

Most parents will say that one of the biggest back-to-school adjustments is reestablishing healthy morning and bedtime routines. There is no secret code that unlocks the perfect bedtime or morning routine for every child. One way to incorporate the whole family is to work together to find mindfulness routines that everyone can practice. In the morning, for example, consider reciting a daily affirmation that encourages positive thinking and confidence. Affirmations can help children face tough challenges that they may encounter at school. In the evening, engage in a shared gratitude practice, during which everyone shares one thing they are grateful for. 

Allow Children To Craft Grocery Lists And Help Meal Plan

Whether you have kids or not, grocery shopping is something you must do. Kids can help make grocery lists, restock the pantry or fridge after a grocery run, and write down when things are running low. Take that a step further by involving your kids in meal planning. Come up with a weekly calendar of meals and talk about what you will need to buy for certain meals. You will also need to include snacks and treats that everyone can enjoy. Consider trail mix without chocolate or carrot sticks with hummus. Plus, getting everyone involved with grocery planning can help your kids later in life when they have to shop for themselves. 

Let Kids Pack Their Own Lunches

Take a chore off your morning to-do list by allowing your kids to pack their own lunches. If they are too young to make lunches, let them help place the contents inside their lunch boxes. Giving your children a sense of autonomy over chores is essential for growth and development. They will also learn how the food they pack can help fuel their bodies. To make this process easier, give them a checklist of foods to include. Break it down into protein, vegetables, fruits, and treats. Work with them to help better educate them about healthy food choices. 

Get Out And Explore

One of the reasons that the back-to-school transition proves difficult for kids is because they spend less time outdoors. They are in classrooms all day with a small break for recess. Take them out to walk the dog in the evening or plan small bike rides to the local park. Exposing children to natural light after school can help boost their mood and encourage better sleep at night. You can also plan more elaborate weekend excursions, such as hikes, picnics, beach days, and scavenger hunts. Involve the kids in these plans by having them help pack the essentials for your excursions the night before. 

Create New Family Traditions

The start of the new school year is a time of change. Kids and families can find it very disorientating, but you can help develop new routines that your kids can look forward to. Weekly traditions for the family can be very exciting. Perhaps one plan is a weekly dinner where kids get to plan pizza toppings. Another idea is to have one family member pick a game to play on the weekend. Maybe you have a movie night at home with theater-inspired concessions. The possibilities are endless!

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If you have school-age children, there’s a chance that they have already talked with classmates about the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. How do you mold the conversation or inform your children about what happened? Every parent will handle the conversation differently, as the pain of the grieving families is every parent’s worst nightmare. It triggers fear 

in both the children and parents. Could it happen at the school your children attend? This is why having an open dialogue about the situation is necessary. 

In case you haven’t seen the news, nineteen children and two adults were killed during the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The Uvalde shooting came just 10 days after a shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where 10 people died. These horrific events brought trauma and anxiety to many people around the country. Unfortunately, these incidents are not the only two that have happened this year. According to Education Week, there have been 27 school shootings with injuries or deaths in 2022. On top of that, the United States surpassed 200 mass shootings this year, counting 212 shootings since January 1st, 2022. 

How Do You Talk With Kids About What Happened?

The key to talking with kids about this type of situation is communicating relational safety. This can only happen if you listen to their fears and co-regulate their responses to what you say. But first, parents will have to process their own feelings and work through emotions related to the tragic event. If your kids come to you with questions about the event, though, ask them about things that they heard about. Tell them to tell you what they know and do your best to provide simple facts that are age appropriate. 

If you have teens or tweens, it’s possible that they received information via TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram. Not all of the information on these platforms accurately depict the situation, and this can be confusing, conflicting, and incomplete, in regards to news coverage. When you communicate with teens, stick to facts and answer the questions they ask. If you don’t have the answer to one of their questions, it’s perfectly acceptable to tell them that you don’t know the answer. No matter the age of the children, though, take a break from social media and the news to decompress. Nobody benefits from that much exposure to information about tragedy. 

Talk To Your Children

It can be scary to discuss school shootings with your children. You don’t want to scare your children, even though many children are aware of school shootings nowadays. The attention that the media brings to these events makes them ever-present, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Discussing the topic in a relaxed way can help alleviate anxiety and make your children feel more at ease. 

If you aren’t sure how to start the conversation, ask your children if they have any questions about the event. Because children, especially young children, have a wild imagination, you should not use fuzzy language or euphemisms. Be clear with what you are saying without stepping over the line into the inappropriate realm. For example, truthful answers are direct and clear, but use discretion when necessary. 

For The Kids Who Were Present Or Heard On The News

19 children being gunned down is an unacceptable situation, and there are no rules about how to grieve. It may take some time to process the situation. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the symptoms you experience, as symptoms of trauma can often mimic those of depression. Anxiety, sleep disturbances, changes in eating habits, or mood swings are all common things to experience after a traumatic event. If your children start experiencing any of these symptoms, talk to them about what’s going on. They may occur immediately after the event or several weeks later. Children can experience gains and loss as they work through a tragic event. You may even want to seek help from a licensed child psychologist to better handle the situation.

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This week on Top5, we’ll be telling you the Top 5 Cancer-Causing Foods That You Should NOT Feed Your Child!

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Most adults understand that facial coverings are necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19. The mask has become an extension of your being when you leave the house. You have to double-check yourself for a mask, as though you are patting your pockets to ensure you remembered your keys, wallet, and phone. And while it may be frustrating, the act of wearing a mask helps to keep you and other people safe.

It’s hard to get children to do a lot of things. Putting on clothes, brushing teeth, washing hands, saying “please” or “thank you,” or eating meals are all uphill battles. Now, we have to get children and teens alike to understand the importance of wearing masks. Challenges may present themselves depending on the child’s age, but expect there to be a long learning curve.

A Quick Note: If your child is under the age of two, do not make him or her wear a facial covering. The risk of suffocation is very high.

When Do Children Need To Wear Masks?

If you plan to have your child return to childcare or school, face coverings/masks are necessary. Most schools will require kids to have them in order to keep all them safe. Additionally, masks in schools or childcare facilities helps reduce the spread of the virus between children, or between children and the present adults. Children also need to wear masks anytime they cannot maintain a safe distance from others. If you take them to the grocery store, park, or doctor’s office, they also need to wear masks for protection.

It Will Take Time And Practice

Just like breaking in a new pair of shoes, it takes time to get comfortable when wearing a mask. As adults, we are now comfortable with them, but it may take more time with children. Explaining the reason for wearing masks will be easier or harder, depending on the age of the child. Since there are many asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, wearing masks helps reduce your risk of contracting the virus. Now, every child won’t understand what the virus is or how it spreads, but the best thing to do is to practice wearing masks with them. Start by wearing masks with your child(ren) for increasing intervals with each passing day. Eventually, your child(ren) will be able to wear a mask without any issues.

Explain The Importance Of Masks

It’s important to speak in terms that your child will understand. The words “pandemic” and “respiratory disease” may not mean anything to your child. Try to focus on germs, and explain how some germs are good and some are bad. The bad ones can make people very sick, and masks are necessary since you can’t tell the difference between good and bad germs. If the germ explanation does work, try to use the superhero analogy. Superheroes have to wear masks and special suits to keep them safe from bad guys, and masks are like superhero shields that keep bad, invisible germs away.

Have Your Kids Decorate Their Masks

A personal touch always helps a child feel better or more confident. Let them take a little ownership of the masks and it may help them get more comfortable wearing them. Depending on the material, you can let your kids paint the masks, draw on them with markers, or place stickers on them.

Model Good Mask-Wearing Behavior

Kids often learn by example, and they are more likely to get excited about something if they see others doing the same thing. You can explain that you also wear a mask to keep yourself and your friends safe from germs. Kids, especially kids between the ages of four and eight, have a better understanding of caring for others. They want to do the right thing, and if they see your good mask-wearing habits, they’ll follow suit.

It will take time for children to become accustomed to facial coverings, and they may get upset or react negatively towards them at first. Accept this reaction and let them express themselves. They’ll eventually warm up to the new way of life.

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Regular fruit leathers typically contain corn syrup, fruit from concentrate, sugar, hydrogenated oils, dyes, and other ingredients that are too difficult to pronounce. That isn’t the case for this apple fruit leather! Apples are plentiful in the fall, so get your hands on some and make this!

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Some people live by the motto, “You are what you eat.” Well, if this is true then most kids are walking sugar cubes, assuming that kids still eat sugar unhealthy snacks with artificial flavors. To help break this mold, here is a super easy recipe that makes tasty and healthy fruit roll-ups.

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New York City has the country’s largest public school system, and Mayor Bill de Blasio recently dictated that Meatless Mondays will be put into effect in the fall of 2019. Kids in public schools will eat vegetarian only lunches on Mondays with the hopes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving child health. Will the new menu make kids healthier, though?

There is no denying that child obesity rates have grown exponentially over the past 20 years. Climbing obesity rates can be attributed to increased consumption of processed foods, hormone and antibiotic-filled meats and dairy, and refined carbs and sugars. There has not been a lot of focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, which contain essential nutrients that the body needs to function correctly.

De Blasio has argued that Meatless Mondays will improve the health of students in the 1,800 plus public schools in New York City. Consuming a vegetarian diet, however, only has its benefits if the foods that are being consumed are indeed healthy. An early peak at Meatless Monday menu items doesn’t show a healthy future, though. Mozzarella sticks, onion rings, and grilled cheese sandwiches are on the menu. While these are typical kids menu items, Meatless Mondays don’t seem that healthy if those will be the vegetarian options.

According to several studies in different schools, the Meatless Monday concept resulted in more food waste and noncompliance. A few studies revealed 40% more food waste on vegetarian days. Because kids are picky eaters, it can be hard to introduce healthier, vegetarian options. It may be more advantageous to start gardening programs and nutrition classes for kids to understand what a healthy diet consists of. We aren’t saying that the average first grader is going to choose kale over a grilled cheese, but learning about food is never a bad idea.

De Blasio’s idea of instituting Meatless Mondays is not a bad idea, considering 65% of American children between the ages of 12-14 show signs of early cholesterol disease. Is it a solution to the growing child obesity epidemic? Not likely. A better first step might be to eliminate things like mozzarella sticks, fries, grilled cheeses, and onion rings, and replace those with healthier options. Simply cutting meat out is not going to magically make kids healthier. Vegetarians can eat unhealthily too.

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Most kids tend to kick and scream at the sight of salad and will put up a fight if they are asked to eat it. What do most parents do in this situation? They end up giving their children mac and cheese, french fries, fast food, or some other unhealthy meal that hardly contains any nutrients. This is how people end up avoiding vegetables into adulthood.

Being an adult means that you have to do a lot of stuff you don’t want to do. Paying bills, washing dishes, and working are all aspects of adulthood. You know what else is? Eating your damn vegetables, people! Salads are filled with phytochemicals, essential antioxidants, and lots of fiber, which you need to promote healthy digestion.

We understand that everyone isn’t brought up the same and salads may not be regular meals in your diet. In order to help ease you into eating salads, follow the tips below.

Don’t Make Plain Salads

If you put spinach in a bowl and drizzle a little oil and vinegar over it, you cannot call that a salad. That is what you call boring. You have to combine flavors and textures to keep your taste buds craving more after the first couple bites. Don’t be afraid to mix in a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and some legumes.

Add Some Warmth

You can eat salads all year round, but it’s nice to add some warmth to them during the colder months. A warm salad??? A warm salad maintains the leafy green base, but you add warm additions for added flavors. Some of the best warm toppings include quinoa, sautéed asparagus, roasted bell peppers & onions, or grilled tomatoes.

Take Baby Steps

While superfood salads may be trending on health blogs, you don’t have to make a salad with all of them on your first go-around. Piling on kale, chard, beets, Brussels sprouts, broccoli stems, radicchio, and escarole on your plate will scare you away from salads. Start with romaine lettuce and spinach before you get fancy with arugula, dandelion greens, and purple kale. Tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and cucumbers are perfect beginner ingredients as well.

Chopping Your Greens Right

While greens don’t have to be the base of every salad, they are typically the go-to base. Chopping your greens to make them more manageable to eat is a key element of enjoying salads. If you are using kale or other greens with thick, fibrous, and bitter stems, you need to remove those stems and never put them in your salads. You’ll be immediately turned off from eating salads if you include them.

When you are assembling salads, make sure that you add a variety of textures. You need creamy (hummus and avocados), crunchy (nuts and seeds), and chewy (all of your veggies). Top all of this off with an amazing homemade dressing and you’re in business. If you need some salad and dressing inspiration, click here. If you are still hesitant about eating salads, you need to be an adult and eat your damn salads. Eat salads to survive because vegetables have nutrients that keep your body functioning like it should.

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It’s that time of year when school is about to be back in session. Packing your child’s lunch, or your own lunch, can be a stressful situation. Is there enough sustenance? How healthy is the lunch? Should you be worried about how healthy the lunch and snacks are? Yes, you should absolutely take this into consideration.

If a child learns that eating a bag of chips with some sugary, gummy snacks and a soda is par for a daily diet, then he or she grows up thinking that that is normal. This type of diet as a child can lead to health complications or and increased risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or cancer in adulthood. While it may seem easier to buy these processed snacks than to make homemade treats, is it worth it to jeopardize future health?

Easy is usually not healthy, but that is not always the case. There are tons of products on the market that are organic, raw, and made without processed ingredients. You just have to look for them. Since we promote homemade snacks, we have a few recipes to share with you that will be perfect for back to school lunches. Try them out and let us know how they go over.

Homemade Mango Fruit Roll-ups

Some people live by the motto, “You are what you eat.” Well, if this is true then most kids are walking sugar cubes, assuming that kids still eat sugary, unhealthy snacks with artificial flavors. To help break this mold, here is a super easy recipe for healthy fruit roll-ups.

Click here to make the recipe.

Homemade Energy Bars

These bars are packed with energizing nutrients and they help to keep you full. They are sweet, tasty, and you can personalize some ingredients to appease your taste buds.

Click here to make the recipe.

Power Your Day With These Carrot Cake Bites

While these are not Full Body Cleanse approved, you don’t have to bake them. They are ready in no time and provide a ton of nutrients.

Click here to make the recipe.

Overnight Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

If you make a large batch of this, you portion little servings off in glass jars or Tupperware. It is like having a pudding cup, but it is healthy. The best part is that you don’t have to make it in the morning before school!

Click here to make the recipe.

Homemade Banana Chips

Now that you have this recipe, you won’t want to snack on anything else. Bananas are filled with nutrients that can help improve digestion and respiratory health!

Click here to make the recipe.

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