Why Simplify?

7 Reasons Why Simplifying Your Child's Schedule Impacts Health, Finances and Life!

Written by Karen Zeigler

Everyone knows the popular "Why?" game that young children play. It can drive a parent crazy. Why is the sky blue? Why does Grandma's skin look like an elephant's skin? Even though I was annoyed when my daughter had her 100th "why" of the day, I find the game to be beneficial for getting to the bottom of some very important financial and life issues. In this article and the series that follows, you'll discover "Why simplify?"

While surfing the Internet recently, I came across this headline, "The average child lacks 90 minutes of sleep per night." This grabbed my attention because we'd just had the daylight-saving time change. I lost one hour of sleep for one night and I was still feeling effects of that change. If I was still exhausted after a week of loosing one hour of sleep, how tired must our children be when they loose 90 minutes of sleep a night? And more importantly, why are they loosing so much sleep? One reason the article suggested is that kids and parents alike are lacking sleep due to over scheduling extracurricular activities.

There are certainly many advantages to having children involved in extracurricular activities. But let's focus on "why" simplifying your families' extra curricular activities can simplify not just your schedules and your life, but your finances as well.

Experts estimate that parents spend $1,000 per activity per season for uniforms, equipment, private lessons, accessories and activity related trips. These figures don't include the cost of gas, extra meals out, or the priceless cost to our health from poor nutrition while eating on the run, stress and sleep deprivation.

Even if you use the $1,000 as a conservative cost for everything, multiply that by two to three activities that most children are involved in and two to three children in the average family. It can quickly add up to $4,000-$6,000 a year in expenses. I regularly talk with families who don't take family vacations because they can't afford them.

"Why" do we neglect the chance to relax and enjoy a family vacation just to spend another week in a mad rush to get to soccer, piano and the other activities to which we have committed? Do we think that the memories of rushing to practice will stand out above building sand castles with mom and dad? For an investment as large as $4,000 to $6,000 a year, shouldn't we ask ourselves "why" this activity is so important and will I receive the best return on my investment in terms of simplifying my finances, my life and the life of my family?

The second reason to consider simplifying your children's activities is the cost of eating out. Americans spend $110 billion a year to eat out. A family of four is lucky if they can eat out for $20. At three times a week, that's $3,000. Meals prepared at home can be one-fourth to one-half as expensive as eating out. The cost savings is only one benefit to having family dinners at home. Here are some other very important reasons:

•Connect with your family and keep the doors of communication open;

•Reduce the risk of substance abuse. Children who don't eat regularly with their family are 3 1/2 times more likely to use drugs than those who have family meals together.

•Studies show improved grades and improved attitudes by children who eat with their family;

•Model and teach valuable life skills like communication, planning and responsibility;

•Improved health, not just from better nutrition, but also from the increased likelihood that your children will get to bed on time and receive adequate rest.

These are just a few reasons "why" you should simplify your child's activities. If you continue to play the "Why" game, you'll come up with more reasons to reduce the activities and increase the bank balance. Go ahead and spend more time hanging out with your family relaxing and having fun. "Why" not?

Karen Zeigler Speaker, Author & Life Coach
http://karenzeigler.com/

Eating and Sleeping Well for School Smarts

What you do at home plays an important part in helping your child reach his highest learning potential in school. Here are some ways to help maximize your child's brain power.

PROTEINS

Learning requires optimum health and brain function. If a child is eating the wrong foods or those foods that are deficient in the proper nutrients, his ability to learn will be compromised. Parents can enhance a child’s learning ability by providing a nutritious breakfast and lunch daily. Children who eat healthy meals are more likely to have better concentration, problem solving skills, and hand-eye coordination. They are also more alert and creative.

The high concentration of processed sugar in a child’s typical breakfast, such as a toaster pastry, doughnut, or bowl of cereal, makes your child’s brain groggy and will make paying attention during the day much more difficult. By cutting back on high-sugar carbohydrates and increasing proteins, especially in the morning, your child will avoid the “learning grogginess”. Here are some ways to include sources of protein with your child’s breakfast:

• Peanut butter on toast
• Melted cheese on bread
• Hardboiled eggs
• Cottage cheese mixed with fruit
• Low-carb yogurt
• Milk instead of fruit juice

Now, on to lunch. Approximately half of a child's learning hours take place after this meal. You should skip many of the prepackaged lunch items that are high in fat and contain little nutritional value. A sugary snack is okay as a treat with lunch, but pack in the proteins and complex carbohydrates. Don't forget to include water.

WATER

The brain is eighty percent water. Although a number of beverages seem to satisfy your child’s thirst, water is the only beverage that will also quench his brain. Drinks that contain caffeine are diuretics and actually reduce water in the body. Being thirsty causes learning problems because thirst increases cortisol levels. This makes paying attention to tasks more difficult. Within five minutes of drinking plain water, cortisol levels decrease and attention levels increase.

Your child is naturally dehydrated when he wakes up in the morning. This is why it is imperative to have your child drink one glass of water, in addition to his breakfast drink, every morning before school. Remind your child to drink water, even if it is from a water fountain, before a test or when he may be having a hard time focusing in school.

MULTI-VITAMIN

A vitamin deficiency can cause learning problems as well as other health issues. Give your child a daily multi-vitamin after breakfast to ensure he is getting all of the required nutrients for maximum growth and development. Improvements from children taking a daily multi-vitamin have been seen in multiple areas: attendance, academics, behavior, energy, appetite, and self image.

OMEGA-3 OILS

Omega-3 oils are found in the brain in high concentrations and are necessary for maximum cognitive function. Cold-water fish are the primary source of OMEGA-3 oils, such as: salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines and halibut. Other sources of essential fatty acids include: walnuts, broccoli, flaxseed, cantaloupe, kidney beans, and soybeans. There are also certain types of cooking oils and several brands of organic milk available that contain these essential fatty acids. Another way of getting the required amount of Omega-3 fatty acids is by taking fish-oil supplements.

Children need Omega-3 oils for optimal brain function. Visit www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/flaxoil.htm to learn the extraordinary benefits of the Omega-3 oils. A daily dose of this supplement will enhance learning capability and academic performance, as well as benefit children who have learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. Visit www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/ritalin.htm for more infor-mation on natural alternatives for learning and behavior problems.

SLEEP

Sleep is a vital part of your child’s performance and health. Staying up too late is a common pitfall for elementary-age children. Parents often contribute to the problem because they want to spend more time with their children at the end of the day. Did you know the National Sleep Foundation recommends elementary-age children sleep a minimum of ten to eleven hours per night? Stop to calculate if your child is getting enough sleep.

Tired children are often cranky and fussy, and they become easily frustrated. Sleep enables the brain to encode new information and store it properly. The parts of the brain that control emotions, decision-making, and social interactions slow down dramatically during sleep, which allows optimal performance when awake.

Sleep also helps the immune system function effectively. During deep sleep, the body’s cells increase production while proteins break down at a slower rate. Without proper sleep, the immune system becomes weak, and the body becomes more vulnerable to infection and disease. Growth hormones are released during sleep, so sleep is vital to proper physical and mental development. Make your child’s sleep a priority in your family’s routine.