Self-Care has become quite the buzz word in the midst of our busy and stress-filled lives. Moms talk about their self-care routines and dads take breaks to watch the latest sports game but what about our kids? We don’t often think about them needing self-care as well. Children deal with many stressors from school to friends and they often need a break from it all. We have rounded up a few self-care for kids ideas for you.
Studies have shown that by starting a self-care routine at a young age, children learn how to deal with the even larger stressors later on in life. Parents need to remember that this will look different from their routine and from child to child. Let your children explore and discover what helps them best.
Starting with the basics of hygiene and keeping themselves healthy is key. Self-care starts with the most basic of needs including food, water, and exercise. Encourage your children to complete these tasks on their own and be sure to give them positive feedback on how they did. Gently lead them toward completing these tasks unprompted and unsupervised to create self-efficacy.
If all else fails, be creative! Kids are so good at expressing themselves through the arts. Whether you turn on music and dance until you can’t anymore or get out all of the art supplies and create a masterpiece, art is a great form of self-care. Children might be more willing to open up about what is going on in their lives with a song blaring or a crayon in their hand. Let the creativity flow!
Self-care for kids is even more important right now with the constant changes in their schedules and routines. There are so many ideas to help our children take care of themselves and set them up for success in the future. Try out something new today!
