"Nurses Corner" Newsletter
November 2020 - Keep your teeth healthy
Attention parents! During this time that we are taking precautions to keep ourselves safe and healthy, we do not want to overlook the health of our teeth and gums. Preventative dental care remains as important as ever to keep our teeth strong and healthy. Dental offices and clinics in Santa Clara County are following strict guidelines to keep patients safe when you visit the dentist. Children should start seeing a dentist at the time of the first tooth or the first birthday--whichever comes first. And, as always, please remember to have children brush at least twice daily, use dental floss and limit sweets and juices and other sugary foods. And if you are a kinder parent, your next visit to the dentist will be a good time to get the Oral Health Assessment form completed and turned in to school if you have not already done so!
December 2020 - Staying Fit During the Winter Months
Over the upcoming holiday break (and beyond), many of us will be spending more time indoors as the weather gets colder. Although it can be a bit more difficult when warm weather is not inviting us outside to run around, we all want to make sure to keep up our efforts to stay physically fit. Physical activity can make a huge difference in our energy level, our mood and our general sense of well being. It can also help our immune systems fight illness in the event that we get sick. One does not need to make huge changes in lifestyle to improve fitness. Just a few minutes of physical activity each day can add up each week to help us feel stronger and more energized and to get better sleep! We are including here some online resources (courtesy of Coach Nick Ramsden) for a variety of physical activities that are easy (and free!) to access and can make staying active at home more fun!
Active Home by OPEN (online physical education network) -- wide variety of activities designed specifically for distance learning. (Have to make a free account)
Yoga With Adriene -- Youtube channel with yoga practices organized by time length.
Yoga Foster -- YouTube resource with yoga and mindfulness instructional videos to help kids energize, calm down and prepare to sleep.
Get Kids Moving -- YouTube channel of tabatas, high-intensity interval training, with popular kid-interest themes such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.
Train with MLS -- Major League Soccer’s free, at-home skill training program for fans who embrace the motto: “Stay home. Lace up. Let’s go.”
Just Dance -- YouTube channel of dance instruction videos.
Nike Training Club -- has a fitness app with free home workouts, nutrition tips and wellness guidance.
Cosmic Kids -- YouTube channel that has more than a million children following instructions on yoga, mindfulness and relaxation.
RSD Online -- YouTube channel with fun, virtual games for parents and students to use to encourage physical activity, fitness, and exercise. Great for socially distanced or virtual P.E., martial arts, or fitness classes.
January 2021 - Virtual Cooking Class
As we continue to do our best to take care of ourselves during this time of pandemic we all want to pay close attention to the basic principles of good health: adequate sleep, positive relationships, mindfulness/meditation, exercise/physical activity and nutrition. With that in mind, you are encouraged to register for a virtual nutrition/cooking class being offered online starting February 15th. This one is in Spanish but there will also be an upcoming class in English--we will keep you posted!
February 2021 - Tips for a good night's sleep
As we continue to do our best to take care of our health remember that our mental and emotional health are very closely related to our physical health. Research tells us that these six elements help us stay emotionally healthy: connecting to nature; maintaining strong, positive relationships; mindfulness/meditation; healthful food; exercise/physical activity and SLEEP! So, let's talk about sleep. You may have noticed that when you have a good night's sleep, you feel a lot more prepared to "take on the world." One thing that can be helpful (for kids AND parents) to get to bed and fall asleep early enough every night is a routine. Our brains are creatures of habit and so a nightly ritual helps our brains understand that "sleep time is coming soon." Maybe the routine is brushing teeth and then snuggling to read a bedtime story. Or taking a bath, putting on pajamas and then saying good night to other members of the household. The key is the similarity of the routine from one night to the next. Getting up at the same time each morning is also helpful to maintaining a good sleep schedule. Other tips for a good night sleep are to get plenty of activity/exercise during the day so that we are physically tired (but not too close to bedtime since exercise can cause us to feel energized!) and to not be too hungry or too full when we go to sleep. And of course, avoid caffeine (including chocolate and soda) after about noon!
March 2021 - Take care of your emotional well-being
While physical activity, good nutrition and routine medical and dental care all remain very important to our overall health and well being, it is just as important that we tend to our emotional health. As we begin to see a "light at the end of the tunnel" in terms of the coronavirus pandemic now that there is an effective vaccine available to an increasing portion of the population, attention will be turning toward the status of our mental health--both as individuals and collectively. One person recently described the current situation as emerging from a "global trauma."
How have you and your children fared during this past year? Most families have experienced at least one of many difficult emotions--grief, anxiety, isolation, fear or even anger, just to name a few. For some, it is relatively easy to manage and move past such emotions. For others, it may be more difficult. Resilience is a term that describes that quality that enables us to pick up and move on in the face of difficult events or circumstances. Research shows that there are activities we can do to cultivate resilience. These include meditation, connecting with nature and nurturing relationships with other people (especially those with a positive outlook). Of course, our schedules do not always allow for a long session of meditation or a hike in the woods. But in the same way that performing short stints of exercise throughout each day can improve our physical fitness, we can improve our emotional well-being with small but intentional activities. For example, taking a moment to appreciate a thing or event which might otherwise seem routine and inconsequential ("expressing gratitude"). Or taking several minutes in the middle of the day to simply stop and allow yourself to close your eyes and have a moment of "quiet" (different than "meditation," but a quiet moment can have a similar effect in helping to calm the nervous system). And treating yourself as you would treat a good friend--allow yourself grace and space. In the same way we would not speak harshly to a friend who didn't meet every goal or do everything perfectly in a given day, we can also be gentle and encouraging with ourselves. Speak to yourself in an encouraging manner. "You got this" is a good one. Or "I'll try again tomorrow."
Children are most prepared to learn when they feel safe and loved and cared for. Parents and caregivers are best prepared to provide that love and care when we ourselves feel grounded and supported. There will be a lot of readjustments to be made as we resume going back to school and picking up our lives where we left off. If strategies such as the above suggestions seem like they might not quite be sufficient to help with the difficult emotions you may be feeling, there are many resources in the community. If you have a trusted health care provider, that person may be the one you want to reach out to. There is also the county "211" service--one can dial this number from anywhere in the county to obtain information about most available services including mental health resources, legal assistance, supprot for housing/tenant issues, domestic violence support, food banks, medical and dental clinics as well as suicide support hotline numbers. The 211 service operates in many other counties as well.