5 Tips for Teaching Your Children Self Care

A good self-care routine doesn’t have to be in response to a stressor; it can also be a preventative routine that helps you cope with whatever comes your way. While adults may be more in tune with what they need for self-care, children also benefit from the practice but require explicit teaching on building positive habits. Learn five tips to help teach your kids about self-care.

What Is Self Care?

Before you dive into teaching your kids self-care, it is best to start by telling them exactly what it is. Self-care is the practice of caring for oneself, which is easy enough for kids to grasp. However, the process is more complex than that. Self-care includes anything you do to care for yourself that improves the different facets of your wellbeing or a healthy baby gut, including but not limited to:

  • Physical
  • Mental
  • Emotional
  • Health
  • Spiritual

The general goal is to help reset yourself from what has happened and prepare yourself for what is yet to come. This preparation is different for different people. The multitude of ways people engage in self-care can be confusing for young people because learning how to do something so far has involved only one or two “right” ways. You will need to support your children in exploring their needs and other helpful kids products as they develop a self-care routine.

Needs Will Differ Just Like Adults

As you begin to explain self-care, prepare yourself for different needs than you would expect from adults. Be patient and don’t judge their needs, advises Andre Chapman, an educator and foster care specialist. Andre V. Chapman established Unity Care Group, Inc. to address the disparity in resources and education for underserved foster youth. Formerly National Director of Sales for a Silicon Valley tech firm, Mr. Chapman turned his attention to advocating and affecting change in the foster care system.

Find Developmentally Appropriate Suggestions

Younger children may need support in recognizing big emotions and processing them. Independent play or snuggling can be self-care options. Older kids may prefer video game sessions or bubble baths.

Foster Empathy and Compassion

One way to help foster generosity is to model the feel-goods that come with giving. Explaining the benefits of empathy, support, and compassion as forms of self-care is not without merit.

Active Rest vs. Passive Rest

Remind them that hiding under the covers is perfectly okay sometimes. However, be sure to include exercise, light movement, stretching, a vigorous walk, or a strolling nature as forms of healing self-care too.

Journaling the Experience for Progress

Setting habits early is the best way to ensure they continue. Help your child develop an appreciation for a wellements baby multivitamin and record their self-care through journaling. Journaling is critical for progress and will help provide in-depth information if they need more intensive support.

As your children develop, their needs will continue to change. Don’t settle into the idea that a movie and gummy worms are their preferred form of self-care for the rest of the time. By the time a few years pass, reading memoirs and soaking in the bath or hitting the gym with some friends might replace the self-care that once met their needs. Providing a sounding board and gentle support as your child self soothes and begins to develop their routine, as a result, is the best tip to teaching positive and developmentally appropriate self-care.