Back To School Tips for Families

I don't want to go. Can't I stay home today? Am I going to make any friends? This should sound familiar. It especially sounds familiar when you are a parent and your children are going back to school. This can also be an emotional time for the parents  watching their kids get older and worrying about their children's new year. Help is on the way.With the information from Nation Mental Health America, they provide some useful  advice so you can have a smooth transition this year.

• Know that your child's mental health is just as important as their physical health.
• Plans for a good school year start in the summer. Begin establishing a "back to school" routine at least two weeks prior to school starting to minimize stress and help with the transition.
• Healthy food and beverages and good quality sleep are necessary for academic success.
• Express interest and enthusiasm about the start of the school year. If you are confident and excited, your child will be too.
• Start the conversation! Talk to your child about your expectations as well as his/her expectations for the upcoming school year. Take time to listen to your child and discuss aspects of the new school year that he or she is worried about.
• If you have visited your child's school already, you are one step ahead of the game. If not, take a walk around the school with your child and locate his or her classrooms, lunchroom, playground and restrooms. This will help keep your child from feeling lost on the first day. When visiting prior to the first day is not an option, if the school has a website, allow your child to visit the site as there may be photos of the classroom, playground, school staff, required school supplies, schedules, other children, etc.
• Remember to let your child know that it's normal to feel nervous about the start of school. For parents of younger children, suggest that your child take a family photo or special object (with permission from school) to school to make his or her surroundings more comfortable.
• Spend time each day talking to your child about what happened in school. Be open to hearing the good and the not so good. Give your child positive feedback about his or her new experiences.
• Praise and encourage your child to become involved with school activities and to try new things.
• Encourage your child to try to make friends and to be a friend. School is a "social hub" that can be a very lonely place without a friend or two.
• Attend school functions and stay involved in your child's education and engaged with school staff. Children whose parents are more involved with their education have higher achievement, are better adjusted and are less likely to drop out of school.
• Be proactive in learning about how your child is developing not just physically, but socially and emotionally, as well. If you are aware of what's typical behavior and thoughts for your child's stage of life, you will be able to tell more readily when things may not be right.
• Know the signs of bullying. Bullying can take the form of direct bullying such as pushing, kicking, teasing, name-calling, destroying belongings as well as indirect action such as leaving someone out of a group, spreading rumors and cyber bullying. If your child is the bully or being bullied, swift action involving school staff is necessary.

Anxiety and stress about starting school is normal for a child and usually passes within the first few days or weeks. If your child continues to seem anxious or stressed, it may be time to seek help. Talk to your child's teacher, other classroom-based staff as well as your pediatrician about what you can do as a parent. If problems persist, consider getting a referral to a trained and qualified mental health professional.

These ideas should help get you off and running so your child can experience the best school year yet. If you would like to contact me with any question or feedback, you can reach me by email.

Thank you for visiting!
Joseph A. Jones

Learn How To Be Positive

     Is your glass half full or empty? We have heard that many times but it does raise a very important point. Are you positive or negative thinking ? You can have an event occur and it can be great but if you think negative it is the worst thing possible.That is why it is important to learn how to think in a positive manner. With the research from Mayo Clinic, they have some real useful ways to relearn the way you view life around you.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess.

Identifying negative thinking

Not sure if your self-talk is positive or negative? Here are some common forms of negative self-talk:

• Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus only on your oversight and forget about the compliments you received.

• Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.

• Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.

• Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad, black or white. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that you're a total failure.

Focusing on positive thinking

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:

• Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you typically think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute or a relationship, for example. You can start small by focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way.

• Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.

• Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed

• Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn to manage stress.

• Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.

• Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you.

Here are some examples of negative self-talk and how you can apply a positive thinking twist to them.

Negative self-talk                                                            Positive thinking 

I've never done it before.                                       It's an opportunity to learn something new. 

It's too complicated.                                              I'll tackle it from a different angle

I don't have the resources.                                     Necessity is the mother of invention.

I'm too lazy to get this done.                                  I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule but can re-examine.

There's no way it will work.                                   I can try to make it work. 

It's too radical a change.                                        Let's take a chance.       

No one bothers to communicate with me.              I'll see if I can open the channels of communication.

I'm not going to get any better at this                      I'll give it another try.

                                                                                 .

   If you tend to have a negative outlook, don't expect to become an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may also become less critical of the world around you. Plus, when you share your positive mood and positive experience, both you and those around you enjoy an emotional boost.

Practicing positive self-talk will improve your outlook. When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you're able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking.

Now, you can use this article to view the world from a half full viewpoint. If you would like to contact me with any question or feedback, you can reach me by email.

Thank you for visiting!
Joseph A. Jones

Six Ways To Create A Positive Morning

        You need to start the morning with the right frame of mind. That will create positive  momentum before we go off to work or school. Therefore, It is important to know what to do to each day for this to happen. Humana.com has provided wonderful insights and suggestions concerning this topic. This is what they found.


Go for an invigorating walk or jog
Nothing helps to jump-start your day like a morning jog or a brisk walk.
Depending on where you live, you can take an invigorating stroll along the beach or at a nearby park.
To make it even more exciting, get a few friends together and start a morning walk/jog club. The extra company will keep you motivated and will bring more overall excitement to your daily experience.

Have a champion breakfast

Many people wake up in the morning and run off to work without a proper breakfast. Their idea of a breakfast is a cup of coffee and a protein bar. But what you may want to try for a change is a real breakfast.
Wake up a bit earlier and make yourself something delicious and nutritious. Eggs, toast, pancakes (whole wheat or no wheat for the healthy minded), oatmeal, and fruits can give you the morning fuel that you need to have a successful day.

Pray or meditate

Nothing prepares you mentally for a busy day than some form of prayer or meditation. Prayer helps to keep your mind in a state of gratitude, and meditation helps to relax your mind body completely, which helps to lower your levels of stress and anxiety.
Find someplace quiet where you can be alone with your thoughts. Find yourself a calm sitting position and begin to breathe deeply and relax your muscles. Let your mind focus on nothing except reaching a complete state of calmness, and begin affirming to yourself the great day you're going to have by having gratitude for it.

Listen to empowering music

This is a good technique to use if you really need a morning pick-me-up. Although tastes and preferences may vary, try putting on something inspiring or motivational depending on how you feel.
Listen to music that will encourage you to live at your highest ideals and perform your daily best. It should be something uplifting, so consider both the music and its message when you're deciding what to listen to in the mornings.

Read growth-oriented literature

Wake up and read something that will encourage and empower you throughout the rest of your day. Choose something inspirational that will greatly encourage your deeper values and compel you to live your best.
Another option is to read self-help literature first thing in the morning. By spending those first moments of your day on personal development, your mind will be saturated with the powerful ideas that you need to keep your mind positive and your actions productive throughout the day.

Feel empowered

If you do not do something to jump-start your morning, you may find that your entire day may end up being both uneventful and unproductive. You may even find yourself taking a step back in achieving the goals that you had set for yourself.
This is why starting your day off right is so important. How you start your morning tends to have a big impact on how the rest of your day goes. So if you want to avoid any negative snowball effects, focus on empowering your mind and body every morning in order to have the best day possible.



     We hope this helps you  in leaning what to do to ensure a positive start to each day. If you would like to contact me with any question or feedback, you can reach me by email

Thank you for visiting!
Joseph A. Jones