STAY CONNECTED ‌ ‌ ‌ LiveWELL PlayWELL EatWELL WorkWELL por tu salud Back-to-school season is a busy and exciting time for parents and students! Preparing for a new school year comes with classroom supply shopping and goal setting. This newsletter will provide well-rounded tips for parents during this season.

LiveWELL Beware: school-aged children risks

According to Hopkins Medicine, school-aged children may be at risk for the below concerns. Like anything, having awareness around new concerns builds confidence and establishes better preparation going into real-life situations. Headlice: For school-aged children, headlice can be transmitted from one person to another through head-to-head contact which can occur through playtime, sports activities, or sleepovers. Scoliosis: With Scoliosis, an early diagnosis is key to getting the treatment and attention that is needed. To get ahead of the progression of scoliosis, it’s recommended for your child to get regular scoliosis checkups and to keep an eye out for uneven shoulders and hips. Bullying: Early signs of bullying can include changes in behavior, academic problems, anxiety, depression, and self-harm. Keep a close eye on these early signs as data provided by Hopkins Medicine shares that only 17% of children seek help when they’re being bullied. Poor vision: If your child is new to the classroom, then many discoveries about your child’s physical and mental health may be made, such as the state of your child’s vision. Signs of poor vision can include squinting, tilting the head, and holding handheld devices too close. Article derived from hopkinsmedicine.org

PlayWELL Workout tips for busy parents

Check out the following workout tips from Bright Horizons for busy parents. Fit exercise into small chunks of time: Bright Horizon shares how carving out time to exercise is one of the challenges parents face in finding time to get their workout in. So, they recommend planning the day to include opportunities for fitness such as parking far away from your destination when you’re out running errands, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going for a brisk walk during your lunch break, or before picking up your kids from childcare. Try a gym that has childcare: If you can find a gym that offers childcare, we highly advise it! It is a great opportunity for you to get in a thorough workout stress-free. You would have the security of knowing you are in the same building as your child and it’s an opportunity for the children to have fun and meet other kids. Use “downtime” to multitask: Parents need time for themselves to disconnect and refresh. In the time that you schedule for yourself, try incorporating a workout video, yoga routine, or at-home exercises such as situps, pushups, or jumping jacks. Information derived from brighthorizons.com

EatWELL

Nothing says harvest like homemade applesauce as the fall season approaches! Plus, applesauce makes for a great school snack. With just four ingredients, this recipe will help you create fresh applesauce.

HOMEMADE SIMPLE APPLESAUCE Recipe and photo from aheadofthyme.com INGREDIENTS apples water ground cinnamon brown sugar (optional for sweetness) DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients (apples, water, cinnamon, and brown sugar) into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Allow ingredients to simmer. Once it simmers, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until apples are soft and tender. Purée the sauce or transfer to a blender. There are two options offered here: purée the applesauce using an immersion blender in the saucepan, or blend in a regular stand-up blender and purée until smooth. Serve & enjoy. Serve warm or chilled.

WorkWELL Health and Wellness Webinars

In our most recent WorkWell Webinar we discussed the importance of Investing in Financial Wellness with Cetera Investors. This webinar focused on the basics of how employers can support their employees in the area of financial wellness as well as tips on how to start investing! If you missed the webinar or any of our previous ones, you can watch them at wellnessatoz.org. Stay tuned for our Fall WorkWell details!

WELLCommunity Volunteer opportunities

Back-to-school season offers ways to give back to our community! AARP houses a resource page that offers ideas for how to get involved with giving back including clothing drives, school supply donations, tutoring, mentoring, and more. Visit their webpage to learn more!