The kids are back in school and the holidays are all but a distant memory: Now what? Karen Wagner, APRN, offers specific tips about getting kids back to their routines in the post-holiday-hustle-and-bustle.
Are you finding the kids struggling with bedtime routines? Having trouble getting them to tackle homework? There’s a simple reason: The holidays messed with their mojo! Here, we talk with Nurse Practitioner Karen Wagner about what to do to get them back on the straight and narrow.
Why Routines Are Important
“Holidays are a fantastic time to get together with family and friends, so our routines are usually off — and this is understandable, “Wagner says. “While the holidays are exciting, they are chaotic and can put our kids out of the routines.”
So how do you get kids back into those routines they crave?
“Consistency/routines are crucial for our kids,” she says. “Most people — kids and adults — experience a let-down feeling after the holidays, and post-holiday adjustment takes time.”
So what can we do, specifically? Wagner recommends the following:
Re-establish family routines, including before- and after-school programs or child care routines. Once kids are back on the regular schedule, they’ll find that sense of familiarity as the old routine returns. But keep in mind, this won’t happen overnight.
Encourage healthy eating, as the upheaval of their schedule can be offset by a balanced diet.
Make sleep time a priority: Keep in mind that it might take up to three nights of strict bedtime to get them back on track. But enforcing normal bedtime will get their bodies back on a normal schedule.
Return to usual chores and expectations. Nothing encourages a return to routine like reminding them of the basics.
Incorporate indoor and outdoor time. They likely spent lots of time outdoors during our unseasonably warm winter break — and they even had a snow day or two! So encouraging both indoor and outdoor time will help them return to a circadian rhythm and tire them out from exposure to fresh air.
“It is never too early to encourage a love for physical activity in kids by exposing them to fun fitness activities and sports,” Wagner says. “Physical activity improves bone health, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, decreases levels of body fat, reduces symptoms of depression, and improves cognitive skills and the ability to concentrate.”
This summer, as you enjoy the warmer temperatures with your windows open, you can help protect your children by using window precautions and best practices. We spoke with Jorge Montano-Figueroa, Pediatric Injury Prevention Specialist at Renown Children’s Hospital, to gather tips and best practices for window safety, including conversation starters to help prevent window falls.
As we take a trip through the human body, we eventually reach the mind, holding the keys to our thoughts, memories and behaviors. And although the mind is resilient, it might not always feel that way, especially amidst the obstacles many face day-by-day.
That’s where the importance of mental healthcare comes in – and northern Nevada needs it more than ever. In Washoe County alone, nearly one in five community members reported two or more straight weeks of poor mental health. With feelings of distress, depression, anxiety and stress on the rise, not to mention how addiction disproportionately affects Nevadans, we need a team of professionals devoted to helping the mind heal.
Enter the Behavioral Health department at Renown Health and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med), where healing always remains top of mind (pun intended). From the providers on the frontlines to the administrative staff handling everything behind-the-scenes, every member of this team has one commitment in mind: standing beside people as they find their way forward.
High temperatures can pose serious risks, especially for children who are less able to regulate their body temperature. Infants are particularly vulnerable and may not show obvious signs of distress. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle—even for a moment—as heatstroke can happen quickly and be fatal.
