Parent Survival Guide: Teaching kids the value of self-care

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - With busy schedules and life going at the speed of light it’s easy to forget to take care of your own emotional well being.

Experts say this can also be the case when it comes to kids.

Teaching your kids healthy coping strategies and habits now can set them up for handling adulting better in the future.

Counselor, self advocate and author Dr. Janet Bishop says practicing self-care routines can help kids manage stress and reach their full potential.

“There’s a lot of research on the idea of mindfulness and being able to help kids center themselves and help kids be able to focus and also be able to regulate their behavior,” Bishop says.

Bishop says its important to practice what she calls “Life Savors” habits that can help get your child’s day started on a positive foot.

Things like simple breathing exercises or a few minutes of meditation.

“Often times I tell them breath on a count of four, hold on a count of four, inhale and exhale on a count of four," Bishop says. "What breathing does is send oxygen and also helps wake us up so when we get to our destination they have already practiced moderating their breathing and can arrive at school feeling calm as well.”

Another life savor she says is having your child start the day visualizing and affirming good things by thinking and saying them.

“In particular with kids when they start the day with an affirmation of I am worthy or I’m going to pass this test and that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and the affirmation can support that,” Bishop says.

When your child comes home from school its always important as a family to talk about the highs and lows of the day something she calls the peak and pit, she says.

This conversation of asking your child what made them feel great today or what they would do differently next time, she says, teaches kids to talk about things that effect them physically and emotionally.