May Blog_2020

Blue's Blog May 2020

#bluesblog

May 1, 2020 - pdf version

 

Hey Friends!  

May is here and did you know that May is Mental Health Month and Physical Activity Month.  With all that is going in our world, we need to really think about our mental health and the mental health of our children and in my opinion, these two go hand and hand. 

A lot of you may not know what mental health is, but it can be described as the ability to cope with one’s feeling of stress, sadness, worry or sleep problems.  The Center for Disease Control states that in children it is when there is a serious change in the way a child learns, behaves, handles their emotions, and has distress and problems getting through the day.  When this goes on for an extended period of time and feelings like these are constant and interfere with sleep, relationships, daily lives, then they may have a mental illness.  Just like having a cold or a rash, a mental illness requires treatment either talking to someone, going to the hospital, or taking medicine.

In today’s world it is estimated that over 17 million children are affected by some form of mental illness such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and/or behavior problems.  Mental, behavioral and developmental problems begin in early childhood.  1 in 6 children between the ages of 2 and 8 are diagnosed with a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder.    Additionally, some of these conditions occur together resulting in children battling multiple mental illnesses like anxiety, depression and behavior problems.

Knowing all of this and the fact that we are all “sheltering in place” we reached out to our good friend Heather Dennis Murphy, a licensed clinical social worker and counselor with Live Oak Counseling.  Heather knows the toll social distancing it taking on children.  Sometimes all of us experience a high degree of stress and need to bring ourselves back down.  This is true in kids as well and it is called grounding.  To get “unstuck” children can try to focus on things they can see, feel, hear, smell, and taste.   Heather also encourages children to de-stress through progressive muscle relaxation.  If you see that your children are experiencing a high degree of stress or anxiety, we encourage you to try these “grounding” techniques.

 

(Check out this great video that teaches progressive muscle relaxation for children.)

 

My friend and I, as well as the Be Active Kids team are hoping for less stressful times in the near future!  We know that together we will all make it through. Share your active pictures on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using #beactiveblue, #caughtbeingactive, and @beactivekids.

Stay active and healthy!  See you in June.

 

 

Blue the Caring Cub

Testimonials

  • Preservice Teachers Learn to Use Be Active Kids in Limited Spaces

    I really enjoyed our class meeting. It was interesting to discover that you can do just about anything with children in the classroom where there may not be much space to encourage them to be active.  A change that I will make in my own life is to be more active, as well as my daughter. I will share this information with my friends that have children such as yoga animals, or Simon Says.

    Cathy Sesta, Parent & Child Care Provider
  • Early Childhood Physical Activity Institute

    Thank you for inviting me to be part of this year’s Institute. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the experience. You’re doing amazing work and I hope I’ll be able to continue contributing to it a bunch in the future.

    Rae Pica, www.movingandlearning.com
  • Plenty of Resources That I Can Use and Share

    This class was informative, and I look forward to being physically active with young children. On Friday, I volunteered at a Parents Night Out through my daughter's school. When I got there the kids were watching a movie. I got them up to play Simon Says and Red Light Green Light, however, after that I was stuck on what to do. I wish I had the knowledge I gained from this class, to have made it more exciting.

    I enjoyed your Land and Lake Activity.

    Venessa Wright, Parent & Child Care Provider
  • Be Active Kids Trainers Rock!

    I loved the training.  I would have loved it more if I had the other teachers from my center there also.  I am really looking forward to taking my kit to work and sharing it with my staff.  I liked Brittney, she reminded me of myself as far as being very active and motivated.  When I am at work with my little ones we stay busy all day.  I feel like singing my instructions and dancing my actions helps them to focus better on what I need for them to do.  Britney was great and I learned a lot from her. I am always trying to find new little ways to get the kids moving.

    Tiffany Daniel, Sandhill Community College
  • ECPAI

    The Early Childhood Physical Activity Institute was just wonderful!  Thank you again for including me in such an important effort to create and sustain leaders in EC physical activity. I would love to return to NC anytime that you think I can help. I enjoyed meeting the folks who work with you and hearing about all of the great things that are planned. 

    Linda Carson, Choosy Kids
  • Be Active Kids has Much to Offer

    Congratulations to you and everyone who has been promoting PA for young
    children in NC. You have much to be proud of here. Be Active Kids is an excellent source of ideas for promoting active play in unstructured settings. The Be Active Kids website also has resources on promoting unstructured active play. I encourage folks to review these resources. 

    Diane Craft, SUNY Cortland & Active Play Books