Teaching Self-Care to Kids

Self-care is the practice of looking after yourself. When you teach your children how to practice self-care, you’re helping them lay the groundwork for an emotionally stable, healthy life. Follow these tips to help your kids learn self-care strategies.

Role Modeling Self-Care

Your behaviors are your little ones’ greatest teachers. The first step in teaching your children how to practice self-care is to role model it. One way to do this is to create a home routine, which will help with stress management and provide everyone with stability, writes Zenbusiness.com. If you work from home or your children are home all day, create a daily schedule that you hang somewhere easily accessible to them, like their bedroom door. It should delineate clear times for work, personal care, meals, and family fun. This will demonstrate how to balance life with ease — and you’ll be less stressed and more productive.

Mental-Emotional Self-Care

Teaching your children to take excellent care of their emotional and mental well-being will help them develop a strong foundation for their self-care practice. 

• Quiet morning time. Every morning, make it a habit to sit quietly and reflect altogether, even for just one or two minutes. You can have your kids count their inhales and exhales to help them settle into it. This practice will help them get comfortable connecting with themselves, and it will help them calm their minds before school or daycare.
• Listen to music or draw. Each day, find some time to draw, color, or enjoy music together. Relishing the arts, even if it’s messily sketching for a few minutes, will help them learn relaxation strategies.
• Get outside. The Arizona weather offers plenty of opportunities for fun and sun. 
• Journal. Have a special notebook where your children can list the people, pets, places, and events they’re grateful for. Expressing gratitude can help them view life through a more positive lens and enhance their happiness. 

Physical Self-Care

Taking good care of their bodies will help them feel great both physically and mentally. Here are some ways to encourage your kids to care for their bodies.

• Get them moving. Regular exercise is an important aspect of self-care. Signing your children up for sports they enjoy or enrolling them in martial arts classes can be a fun way to get them active every day. East Valley Martial Arts teaches children of all ages from preschool through high school.
• Feed them well. Together with your children, devise a list of fruits and veggies they’d be willing to try, and add some of those to every shopping list. Offer them some of the items on their fresh food list every night at dinner. This will help them get into the habit of eating well.
• Teach them good hygiene. Ensure your children bathe regularly, brush their teeth at least twice daily, wash their hands, and wear clean clothes. Helping them do this while they’re young will encourage them to continue these important self-care habits throughout their lives. 

Teaching Self-Care Is Necessary for Kids 

By role modeling self-care and teaching your young ones healthy mental and physical habits, you’ll be setting them up for greater success in life.

-Sharon Wagner