Posts

two mature woman friends chating over coffee

Parenting 101: Making Self-Care a Habit

/in /by

Raising a child isn’t easy. It is definitely a full-time, around-the-clock job! Even if your child attends a preschool or daycare during the day, you can still get overwhelmed with how much work and energy it takes to care for an infant, toddler, or preschooler. We strive to be the best parents that we can be. But being your best is nearly impossible when you are burned out, mentally drained and physically exhausted.

We get tired of picking up the toys, cleaning up the spills, and changing endless diapers while struggling to find time to eat or sleep. Things begin to pile up and we can quickly start to feel stressed and overwhelmed.  Parents devote so much time to caring for their children and often leave little time to care for themselves.

Benefits of Self Care

To be our best, we have to make time to care for ourselves. When we make self-care a priority, we begin to see many improvements in our lives. For instance, we will most likely experience lower stress levels. Good self-care habits such as regular sleep, relaxation, exercise, and eating well have been proven to reduce stress levels. These practices help maintain our emotional, mental, and physical health, helping us manage and prevent stress so we can be the best for ourselves and others.

How to Start Your Self-Care Journey

  1. Put “me time” in your schedule: Alone time is necessary. And something that we often forget to do when young children can command so much of our time. When you mark it down in your calendar, it forces you to take this time more seriously. A good time for this is in the morning when your child is at preschool or daycare, or in the evening when you can find alternative childcare options. What you decide to do during your “me time” is completely up to! You may choose to exercise, go shopping, go to the spa, take a long walk in nature, or any other activity that you find calming or stress-relieving.
  2. Meet with one of your friends: This is especially important if you spend most of your day around children and need an escape. Spending time with other adults without children around can be particularly rewarding. This allows you time to have mature, full-length conversations without having to censor yourself or fear interruption.
  3. Make a journal: Write in your journal for about 20 minutes every day and just let your thoughts flow onto the paper. This is a healthy way to release those feelings that you may otherwise keep bottled up or under the surface.
  4. Set limits: Sometimes we can get stressed because we don’t know how to say ‘no’ to others. Maybe your neighbor keeps asking you to host playdates at your house or you are being pressured to volunteer somewhere. There’s no shame in saying ‘no’ to one or even a few of these requests. Instead of automatically saying ‘yes,’ you can practice saying “Let me think about it” or “I’ll get back to you on that.” It’s best to keep your workload manageable, rather than let things pile up. This will help to avoid feelings of overwhelm.
  5. Download a meditation app: Even if you’ve never meditated in your life and think that its probably not for you, it doesn’t hurt to try. You can download apps that make it easy for you to follow guided meditations on a daily basis. These apps teach you how to meditate and do breathing exercises that can calm your mind and body.

When we take care of ourselves, we show our children that self-care is a priority. We serve as good role models when we lead by example, teaching our children that we value our own health and well-being.

Self-care is important because it helps us unwind after days or weeks of stress. When we feel more relaxed, we can be calmer, healthier, and overall better parents.

 

 

Boy washing hand

Tis the Season for Sickness: How to Keep Kids Healthy

/0 Comments/in /by

With the cooler weather creeping in, cold and flu viruses are beginning to make their rounds in almost every daycare and preschool across the country. Luckily, there are some ways to lower your child’s risk of coming down with something, too.

Ways to Stop Sicknesses in Their Tracks

A healthy diet. Feeding your child a nutritious diet filled with fruits, vegetables, and iron-rich foods is an important part of helping her build a strong immune system. Nutrients found in these kinds of foods not only allow your child’s body to function properly, but also gives her the energy she needs to grow and learn.

Handwashing habits. Insist that your child washes his hands after every trip to the bathroom, before eating anything, and as soon as he comes home from daycare, school, or the playground. Proper hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways of reducing the spread of spread of illnesses. That’s why it’s equally as important to make sure that you’re washing your hands frequently, too.

Teaching not to touch. Contact between germy hands and mucous membranes, like the eyes and nose, is how bacteria are able to enter your child’s bloodstream so easily. Make sure that you tell them not to rub their eyes or pick their nose in order to prevent the unnecessary spread of germs.

When they sneeze or cough, teach them how to do it in the crook of their arm. Although this won’t prevent him from catching anything, it will stop him from spreading germs that he may have to other people.

Vaccinations. A current immunization record is usually required before your child can start at a daycare or preschool. At Carpe Diem, the record must be maintained and updated immediately after the child receives an additional dose or booster.

A balanced lifestyle. Getting a full night’s sleep every night and exercising daily, either through active games or sports can boost a child’s immune system naturally.

 

How We Help Put a Stop to Germs in Preschool

At Carpe Diem, we make it our priority to make sure that you and your child feel safe and secure in our preschool. We believe that part of feeling safe and secure is not having to fret constantly over the possibility of a sick child. That’s why we‘ve adopted a special policy to help you feel more at ease when your child or other children get sick.

As stated in our parent handbook:

If your child becomes ill or injured while at school, we will notify you immediately for you to make arrangements for pick up; and we will do our best to comfort him/her until you arrive. If emergency medical care is required, we will call 911 for immediate assistance.

To avoid the spread of disease, state licensing standards require ill children to be isolated from their group and picked up from school as soon as possible, but no later than one hour after notification. In order to return to school, your child needs to be free of all symptoms for 24 hours without the use of medication, except for an antibiotic prescribed for an ear or sinus infection, for example.

To reduce the spread of infections, children and staff wash their hands, using anti-bacterial soap, many times during the day, but especially after toileting and before eating.  We do not allow children to share cups, utensils, etc. In addition, toys, doorknobs, and all other items that are handled or contacted on a regular basis by children are disinfected regularly with an anti-bacterial solution.