SUNNYSIDE SCOOP FEBRUARY, 2019
Principal Points February 2019 Building Resiliency in our Kids As parents we always want to do what’s best for our kids, including preparing them for a future of independence, and one of them is helping them to build resiliency and a healthy lifestyle in their lives. There are some specific things we can do to assist them in this growth, including helping them cultivate gratitude, perform deliberate acts of kindness, and get an adequate nights sleep. All three of the aforementioned areas have a huge impact on the long term health of our students. The following is a shortened list of some powerful things we can do to help improve resiliency. • According to research, the most powerful and simple way to momentarily increase your wellbeing daily is to do 1 deliberate act of kindness for someone else. • To assist with cultivating gratitude, have a child for 1-2 weeks before bed, write down 3 good things that happened to them that day and what their role in them was. Research showed that by doing this students saw a mental health boost of 6-12 months! • Example: The sunset was amazing with all its colors! My role was taking the time to stop and notice it. • Ensure a good night’s sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, kids at different ages need different total hours of sleep: • Newborns to one years of age need 17 hours per night • 1-2 year olds need between 11 and 14 hours per night • 3-5 year olds need between 10-13 hours per night • Pre-teens (6-12 year olds) need between 9 - 11 hours per night • Teens need 8-10 hours of sleep per night • Adults - We should be averaging 7-9 hours per night. • Getting a good night's sleep helps with mood regulation, improves willpower, focus, and memory Helping our kids learn ways to regulate their bodies, socially, emotionally, and physically, has an enormous long term benefit to their overall well being and health. Partnering together, Dr. Flansburg