Back to School & the importance of chocolate in mental health

Catherine is here with you to talk about "The Importance of Chocolate in Mental Health" - which is not only a very intriguing title, but actually very timely content given that the back-to-school transition is upon us. During this time, it can be so helpful to kids going back to school to have some extra family time to support comfort and stability (and maybe chocolate) when their day to day schedules are changing so drastically.

The Importance of Chocolate in Mental Health

This started out as a joke title. It came to me after I spent time savoring a piece of chocolate with a kiddo during a session to practice mindfulness. 

Kate left us with some wisdom on self-care earlier this year. And if you haven’t read it, I recommend it to learn how to exercise self-care for yourself. Here though, I want to discuss family self-care. To me this focuses on how we interact as a family to create memories and also a foundation. This is more than vacations (although those are wonderful). These are daily moments of laughter, conversation and connection. They are in the simple moments of family that support stability, security and comfort when everything is changing with the back to school transition.

It can feel, in our very busy daily schedules, that there isn’t time for much besides getting the “to-do” list marked off. We are entering a new school year with new and/or returning demands. With each year, the school work gets harder, the schedules busier, and time together can feel like an anomaly, not a day to day occurrence. During this time, family self-care becomes even more important. As we enter the new school year and get into our routine, let’s build in family self-care time. 

Family time builds confidence for children, improves academics, and mood. It improves connections, teaches regulation skills, social skills, as well as listening and communication skills. These are things we all want for our children to see them grow into their potential. And it helps to build positive experiences that add up and lead to more positive experiences. It can help with moments of respite from sibling rivalry and parent-child tension.

So, just as schedules get busier and it seems like your child or teen only wants to play with their friends, start small as you build these extra moments of connection. This can be really small, like a special note or treat in their lunch, a supportive text when the school day wraps up, planning their favorite dinner, sharing highs and lows or times you very excited, proud and nervous after school. 

Then, maybe you can plan one thing a week and build it up from there based on what works for your family. Our family enjoys family dinner, cooking dinner or dessert together, going on walks, game nights or puzzles and starting a new show together that everyone can look forward to. 

Cheers to a new school year and a smooth transition back!