Mental Health

A Look at Mental Health as Children Head Back to School

By August 22, 2014No Comments

Mental Health 17You can tell by the store display racks of notebooks, pencils, rulers and backpacks that another school year is upon us. There is a flurry of preparation in the weeks leading up to the return to school, but parents should remember to consider their child’s mental health in the midst of it all.

Restoring Schedule
Before day one of school you should work to get your child/children back in a healthy sleep routine. Sleep is vital to good mental health and to school performance. Now is not too soon to get the whole family back on a school-friendly bedtime. After all, parents, too, do a better job with regular sleep.

Restoring Cognitive Skills
Blow out the cobwebs before they take a seat behind a school desk. Look for ways to get your child in a critical thinking mode now. You can do this by asking your child to recall important things they learned last year in school, having them read aloud from a book or magazine or use three adjectives to describe their day.

Restoring Concentration
One of the biggest challenges in modern classrooms is getting kids to remain focused for more than a few minutes. You can help your child strengthen concentration with simple exercises that require sustained attention. For example, have them sit and think only about what things they can hear for five minutes. Ultimately, you’d like your child to be able to stick with a single task or concept for 10-15 minutes. The human brain naturally wanders and for kids with attention deficits the problem is even more pronounced.

Getting in the back-to-school mode can mean many adjustments which can easily overwhelm children and
families. You can reduce some of the stress by easing into the demands of school life gradually. Family Guidance is available to families who want to protect the mental health and wellness of
every family member.