Small Changes at School

Both Laura and I have kids at primary school. We thought it might be useful to put together a short blog post with a few ideas of how we can help our kids make healthier changes and choices when it comes to their school lives. After all they spend a lot of time there. Laura visited our childrens’ school a couple of weeks ago to tell them a bit about the upcoming Bearsden Festival as there were various activities for kids. We had made a presentation about well-being generally and she was really impressed with how much awareness the kids already had about their mental and physical health from the school’s own well-being program.

So what can we as parents do when it comes to our kids, their health and their school. Bringing up our kids to be healthy is a huge responsibility for parents and something we often worry about. Are we doing the best for them? Are we good role models? Are we too busy juggling to do it properly? And what do kids themselves think about their health at school. My 9 year old son agreed to be interviewed on the subject.

“Hi Euan”

“Hi”

“Today I’m writing a blog post about small changes you could make at school to try and make your life more healthy. Not stuff that the teachers do with you at school – more the stuff that you do yourself or that we can do as a family. What about things like being more physically active, getting to and from school?”

“Cycling your bike, or you could walk or you could go on your scooter”

“Yes, is that easy enough to do?”

“It depends where you live”

“That’s true, so what about the people who live further away?”

“They could drive half way”

“That’s a great idea!”

There are some obvious things like walking, cycling or scooting to and from school if you live relatively nearby. If the whole way isn’t feasible, you can park you car further away and walk part of the way. You may not be able to do it everyday, but that’s okay – just do it when you can. Think about taking turns to walk them up with another parent if it fits. As they get older and more independent you can teach them to walk to school safely by themselves. It’s great for kids to have an expectation that if they’re going a short distance the normal way to do is on foot, rather than jumping in and out the car.

“You could put healthy stuff in your packed lunch box“

“Yes, what kind of things do you think?”

“You would be able to put some sweets in, but you could also put some fruits in, fruit and veg”

“That’s a good idea, and what about the people that don’t have packed lunches?”

“They could make healthy choices in the canteen”

“Are there healthy choices you can have?”

“Yes, they are mainly healthy”

“What kind of things?

“Well, some days there is chicken curry”

“Are there unhealthy options as well?”

“Yes, some days there’s pizza.”

“Is it not hard to go past the pizza and choose the healthy option?”

“Yes it is quite hard, but it’s only once every so often”

When it comes to food at it school there’s the whole debate about how healthy school lunches are. I don’t suppose it matters what council area you are in – unless Jamie Oliver has been in the area the lunch menu usually leaves a bit to be desired in terms of healthy eating. When you mix that together with a child getting to make their own food choices it’s hardy a surprise that a lot of them are going to pick the pizza slice over the lentil soup and roll. If there’s something sweet available, you can pretty much guarantee they’ll choose it. Talking to your kids about healthy food choices in a natural way, without turning it into a big issue, along with leading by example is probably the best way to play it. Packed lunches are a possibility, and do offer you a bit more control over what your kids are eating. There’s very few kids who actually go home for lunch, certainly at our school.

“What about sleeping on school nights, what do you do if you can’t get to sleep. Are there any tricks that you use?”

“Read.”

“Does that make you relaxed?”

“Yes. Or playing a board game.”

“Can you think of anything you shouldn’t do if you are having difficulty going to sleep?

“Play on your computer.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’s blue light which basically makes you think it’s day.”

Different kids need different amount of sleep, and I can’t pretend mine go to sleep early. We do still have a half hour of going to bed routine when we read a book together or play a game – so they’re not glued to a screen last thing at night, and we get them into bed at a reasonable hour on school nights. Euan is right, screens before bed are not good for sleeping for anyone – adults and kids alike, so that may be something to consider if your kid struggles to get to sleep and is tired and difficult to chase out of bed in the morning. Books, crafts or games may be a better way to spend the last part of the evening before bed.

“If you were stressed or worried or unhappy at school what do you think you should do? What do the school tell you to do?”

“Have a smile on your face and think of something funny. You could tell the teacher.”

“Yes and you could tell your mum or dad as well.”

“If you were being bullied you should tell an adult.”

“If you were feeling unhappy or worried is there anything you could do at home that can help? What kind of things do you find help you relax?”

“You could do a mindfulness thing?”

“Do you like doing that?”

“Yes.”

“Sometimes I think it’s an excuse not to go to bed, does it help you relax?”

“Yes.”

From a parenting perspective one thing about school which we have struggled with over the years is organisation – in terms of getting homework done, music practice, getting the right kit into the bags on the right day. There have been many stressful moments when someone remembers something they need as they are leaving the house. Five years down the line we’re not perfect but we’re better than we were. We’ve got a chart in the hall with what needs to be in the bags everyday and we try and get the kids to take responsibility by looking at it and packing appropriately. After dinner they do a bit of homework and music practice before everyone disappears off to do their own thing. On the whole it seems to work for us, although there is still the occasional panic. If you have a great routine for your family – tell us – I love having a good system and any ideas for improving the ones we already have are welcome!

“What about if you were feeling lonely at school? How can you make your school a friendlier place if you’re feeling lonely or if you see anyone else looking lonely.”

“We wrote some poems about kindness for the Bearsden Festival.”

“Do you think kindness is important?”

“Yes it’s one of the things on our school charter.”

“So you know that being kind to other people is important and you talk about it at school. Do you think being kind is a small thing you could do to make everyone healthier and happier?”

“Yes.”

Aside from the stresses of the school work itself, the other element of school life that can be stressful for kids are their friendships and relationships with other kids at school. Being left out of a game, getting into a dispute with another kid, falling out with their best friend can all be devastating for little ones. It can sometimes be quite difficult to know how best to handle it, and there is often no right or wrong answer. What is important is giving your kids the opportunity to talk through these episodes, their feelings and what they might do if the situation arises again. Talking about their anxieties will help. Providing a environment out of school where they can relax in whatever way works for them will also be of benefit. And as Euan said, if your kid is worried, anxious or unhappy about any element of their school life and you need a bit of extra support dealing with it, it’s a good idea to speak to their teacher.

“Thank you very much, for letting me interview you, Euan.”