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Just Add Water
We’ve heard it a thousand times, “Drink more water,” but have you ever stopped to think about why we should choose water to drink? Water isn’t just the best way to hydrate the body. Water is an essential nutrient that keeps the body healthy and functioning at its best. Brain Power Mild dehydration affects the brain. Dehydration can impair short and long term memory. It can cause irritability, fatigue, and headaches. It is harder to concentrate and stay focused on tasks when we are dehydrated. With 80% of the brain being made up of water, it stands to reason the brain functions best when we are fully hydrated. Fluid Coupling Cartilage is made up of 60% water. Cartilage is a shock absorber in the joints serving to reduce the friction between the bones in the joint. When the body is dehydrated, cartilage becomes less pliable and loses its ability to cushion the joints. Staying hydrated keeps your joints healthy and working properly to prevent injury. Running Smoothly Just about every body process needs water for healthy, normal function. The kidneys need water to flush toxins from the body. The digestive system needs water to move and process the food we eat. Water is essential for softening food, breaking down and absorbing nutrients, and ensuring everything runs smoothly. Dehydration can result in digestive problems including constipation, stomach ulcers, and heartburn. The Ultimate Energy Drink Start each day with a tall glass of water to give you a quick and lasting energy boost. If you simply want to stay awake in your afternoon meeting, again, water is your solution. Instead of reaching for that afternoon cup of coffee or energy drink, grab a tall glass of water. When we are dehydrated the flow of oxygen to the brain is reduced. The heart has to work harder to move oxygen throughout the body. Dehydration can leave you feeling sluggish and off your game. Athletes know the critical role hydration plays in performance and recovery and drink water regularly to keep their bodies at optimal operation. Maybe you’re not looking for optimal athletic performance, but you still want to keep pace with your daily routine. Walking the dog or taking the stairs to your apartment will feel much easier if you’re hydrated. Am I Dehydrated? So, how do you know if you are dehydrated? The body gives us many signals to let us know it needs more water. The most direct signal is thirst. When we are thirsty, the body is telling us it needs water. Did you know that the body will send hunger signals if it needs water too? Often food cravings between meals are really signals of dehydration. Before you grab a bag of chips, have a glass of water and see how you feel. Chances are the food cravings will subside. Dark-colored urine is a symptom of dehydration. The kidneys hold on to water when the body is dehydrated. When you are hydrated, your urine will appear pale yellow. Dry lips, dry skin, and reduced skin elasticity are also signs of dehydration. Headache, fatigue, or poor concentration aren’t often associated with dehydration, but they can indicate that the body is dehydrated. Listen up and pay attention to what your body is telling you. You’ll feel better for it. Get in the Flow Here are a few ideas to help you optimize your water intake: Carry a refillable water bottle with you. Make sure it is a bottle you like to carry and one that you enjoy drinking from. Jump start your day by drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning. Set alarms on your phone to remind you to drink a glass of water. Keep a glass of water or your water bottle on your desk or work station as a reminder to sip water all day long. Infuse fruits, vegetables, or herbs in your water for a little extra flavor. Start a water consumption challenge with co-workers, friends, or family members. Find an app that sends you alerts to drink water and helps you track your water intake. There is no prescribed amount of how much water you should drink. Hydration needs vary for each person and depend on several things such as age, physical activity, gender, and the climate one lives in. Just remember that drinking plenty of water is the best thing you can do for your overall health and well-being.
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Great Expectations
Whether it’s a birthday, a holiday, or just any day, kids develop over-the-top expectations, and who can blame them? We live in a world today where everyone posts about everything they have and the amazing things they’ve done. Who knew how momentous tucking into a bowl of cereal could be? Kids are bombarded by ads, pop-ups, and threads every hour on the hour. In the face of all of this greatness, it can be challenging to align your children’s expectations with reality. Thanks… Now what? Before we talk about how to manage children’s expectations, let’s be clear about why we should do it. When children are given everything they want, they miss the opportunity to be a kid. Setting your sights on something you want, something you may not be able to get, inspires creativity and pushes us to learn new things. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. If children get every game or toy they ask for, they don’t have to use their imagination or creativity to entertain themselves. If we fulfill every want, they fail to appreciate what they have and don’t learn to work for what they want. Children are more resilient than they get credit for. Once the shock of not receiving the newest digital toy for their birthday passes, imagination and creativity step in to find other ways to get one. It seems a bit old-fashioned, but earning the money to buy the device on their own by doing extra chores around the house, shoveling driveways in the neighborhood, or selling toys at a yard sale were and still are effective ways to get your hands on the latest whizbangery. FOMO is one thing, but AMO is quite another. Actually missing out on the party “everyone else is going to,” can strike quite a blow, but they can come up with other things to do instead. Having friends over to play video games, plotting a memorable scavenger hunt for their friends, or spending the afternoon with a cup of fried rice to practice eating with chopsticks can provide hours of fun while they’re not at “The” party. Wishing Well To manage your child’s expectations, talk openly and honestly with them about their expectations. What do they really want and what do they expect it to do for them? Review the items on their list with them. Help them identify one or two things they really want. Making a wish list is free and easy, picking one or two things from it requires more work and a readiness to compromise. In the end, is the object of desire really that wonderful because a friend has it? A lopsided birthday cake is a tragedy, a meltdown in real-time. Lopsided or not, it tastes just as sweet. Besides, what a great family memory it will be. A birthday party isn’t ruined by a crooked cake, but a gusher of tears can certainly put a damper on the fun. Everyone Else Has One Wanting what others have is a tradition that spans human existence. Before you jump in with, “If everyone else jumped off a bridge would you do it too?” give your children a reality check. The truth is not everyone has it, not everyone is doing it, and not everyone is going there. Simply telling your child, “No, not everyone has it” is a valid response to the expectation. This can also be a good opportunity to talk to your child about how rules and experiences are different in other households. Just because their friends are allowed to do something, doesn’t mean the same rules apply in your home. Money Matters Be honest with your children. Sit down with them and talk about how money works. Most everything costs money to have including electricity, internet service, water, clothes, food, etc. Explain that you have to make careful choices about how you spend money to support your household. What’s left over after the bills are paid is best spent on things of real value. Talk to your children about the value of a dollar. They will have a better relationship with money as adults if they learn early on how to manage it and spend it on what really counts. Value Added Remind your children to focus on what they did get, the things they do have, and the activities they do get to do. Dwelling on the things we didn’t get, don’t have, or don’t get to do is rarely fulfilling. The human brain has a natural tendency to fixate on the negative, but a little effort and a positive outlook can address that. Help your children turn their frown upside down by asking them to name five positive things in their lives and look to the brighter side. What Matters Most Remember to keep your own expectations in check too. Don’t feel guilty for not meeting your child’s every whim. Remember, the best things you give your children are your love, your time, and firm boundaries, consistently. Teach your children to value time together over “things.” Things come and go, but family is forever. It isn’t wrong to want things, and it isn’t wrong to expect great things from things or events. The trick is to align our expectations with the likely outcomes of acquiring these things or participating in these events. When prepared to evaluate the things we desire carefully, we make more satisfying decisions.
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Game On!
“It was Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick.” These familiar words are uttered by the imminent winner of a serious family game of Clue. Who doesn’t savor victory over their siblings or, better-yet, a parent? The bragging rights alone make it worthwhile. But family game night is so much more than the satisfaction of collecting all of your tricks in a game of hearts. Playing games as a family brings everyone together for some good family fun, in real time. Let’s face it. Everyone’s busy. The kids are busy with their endless extra-curricular activities like soccer practice and piano lessons. They have homework and school projects. Parents have their own commitments too. Conference calls and late-night emails demand attention in addition to helping the children with homework. It can be hard to find the time for some good old-fashioned fun, but it is completely worth making it happen. The Game of Life Practicing essential interpersonal l skills, like managing conflict and identifying and responding appropriately to the emotions of others, at home gives kids a head start in managing their relationships in life. Getting together as a family for a little competitive fun is an easy way to practice those skills. So, let’s consider which skills are rehearsed and developed during family game nights. Poker Face Effective communication is necessary for us to share information without misunderstanding, advocate for our needs, and express our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. Player interaction fosters communication skills practice. For instance, player assertiveness counts in UNO. If you don’t act fast, that’s two more cards. No one wants that! Communication is a two-way street. It isn’t just about speaking. It’s listening for understanding and meaning. It’s about focus and being present in the moment. You aren’t listening if you’re distracted by push notifications of tomorrow’s weather. You could miss out on an opportunity to play the card that wins the game if you aren’t listening. Let’s not forget the nuances of nonverbal communication. A slip of a smile at the wrong time could give the other players insight into a winning hand or reveal a plan to acquire Park Place. Getting in the habit of gauging another person’s intentions, builds a steady state of awareness which improves our interactions with others. Lose Like a Winner We’ve all played a game with someone who flips over the game board when they didn’t win. It’s no fun. No one likes picking up all those little game pieces, and no one likes a sore loser. It’s embarrassing for everyone. No one likes a winner who gloats either. Rubbing it in to the other players won’t win you any prizes. It isn’t easy to lose gracefully, but self-awareness and self-management in the face of defeat is a skill which translates into other areas in the game of life. Not getting that promotion at work you’ve been working toward for months is a big blow, but controlling your emotions and being respectful to your coworkers helps maintain a collegial work environment and keeps you in line for the next opportunity. Learning how to temper frustration and disappointment in the practice environment that is the family prepares children to embrace the big picture thinking necessary for self-regulation. Family game night is the venue for parents to model self-regulation, even when the stakes are high. Children get a chance to practice their good sportsmanship and learn ways to channel their frustration in productive directions before impulses take over. Learning to take turns, following the rules, being patient, and having a positive attitude are part of a good game of Monopoly and essential in a class project. Problem Solving Family game night encourages the refinement of problem solving skills. Games require players to organize their thoughts, plan their next move, think quickly, and act decisively. Scrabble builds vocabulary, but also requires you to plan a few steps ahead and study the strategy of the other players. Plus, players have to be nimble as they attempt to place the most valuable word possible. Some games require teamwork to solve problems and strategize to win. In Hoot Owl Hoot, children collaborate to help the owls fly back to the nest before the sun rises. Children learn from each other and realize they have to work together to get the little owls home. Talk It Out Kids of all ages relax and put aside the drama of the outside world at the game table. When the fun starts, the open conversation starts. The teen whose default answer is a gruff “fine” might actually share a story while playing an intense game of Hedbanz. A little vulnerability produced by a ridiculous game of charades tightens bonds and eases tension. Take It Outside Family game night doesn’t mean quarantine. Get the family outside, and enjoy the fresh air. Set up an obstacle course with hula hoops and orange cones or create a relay race to see who can carry an egg on a spoon the fastest. Who doesn’t love a game of four square in the driveway? Cornhole, paddle ball, spike ball, tag… endless possibilities. Get outside and burn excess energy and get a bit of physical activity. It’s a win for the whole family. Just Do It So, go ahead. Dust off the board games and playing cards. Sync your family calendars now. Make family game night a regular feature in your weekly planner and get ready to make some light-hearted family memories laughing and playing together.
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The Secret Ingredient
We all have to eat. Why not make it a fun family experience? Encouraging your children to work alongside you while you’re cooking has many benefits including an increase in family time and building a healthy relationship to food and nutrition. Let’s face it. There’s not much bonding involved in calling up GrubDash. Get Excited Hours in the kitchen preparing a meal is not everyone’s idea of a good time. Figuring out what to cook, doing the grocery shopping, preparing the food, not to mention the clean up afterwards is daunting for most. Who has the time? Enlisting children to help out can turn what may seem like a chore into a fun learning and bonding experience for the whole family. Start by giving the kids a say in what you’re cooking. It will ease your burden of figuring out what to eat and build excitement for them. Explore recipe books together or browse for new meal ideas online. Then take them along to the grocery store with you. Let them choose the fruits and vegetables. Talk to them about ripeness and freshness and why some produce isn’t always available. They might be surprised to learn that you have to sniff the end of a cantaloupe to tell if it’s ready. If cooking isn’t your thing, start with an easy recipe that you and your child can make together. Everyone can fill a blender with kefir and fruit for a quick breakfast smoothie or chop vegetables and cube a chicken breast for a savory stir fry. Nutrition Education Children are inquisitive, and the questions they will ask while helping in the kitchen naturally open the door for conversations about food and nutrition. If your child asks, “Why are carrots orange?” you can talk about beta-carotene and how the body uses it to enhance vision. If you don’t know the answers to their questions, you can look them up together. They see first-hand examples of cause and effect when they add too much milk to mashed potatoes and end up with potato soup. Cognitive Development Preparing a meal is a great way for children to develop cognitive skills and abilities. Children learn vocabulary when reading recipes and practice math skills while counting and measuring ingredients. Asking children, “What’s next,” helps them learn sequencing and organizational skills. They see first-hand examples of cause and effect when they add too much milk to mashed potatoes and end up with potato soup. Their problem-solving skills are enhanced when they try figure out how to fix the problem. They learn if they wait the potatoes will absorb the extra milk. No one will need a straw to eat the mashed potatoes after all. Crisis averted! Physical Development Cooking tasks like chopping, mixing, squeezing, and spreading develop and strengthen fine motor skills. Younger children can help you mix the dry ingredients, carry small bowls, or flip pancakes, all tasks which develop control and build arm strength. Older children can chop vegetables for a salad or cut up watermelon for a tasty treat. You’ll appreciate another pair of hands in the kitchen helping you accomplish more in less time. Emotional Development The kitchen can be an exciting environment, and cooking has a lot of ups and downs. Presenting a birthday cake they baked and decorated to someone on their special day brings joy and excitement, while the frustration and sadness of facing a burned batch of their favorite cookies will turn that smile upside down. Cooking requires patience. We have to wait for that homemade pizza to bake, and we have to wait for that cake to cool before we can even think about icing it. Along with patience, cooking teaches delayed gratification and impulse control. If their excitement gets the best of them and they take a bite of the zucchini bread before it cools, they might burn their tongue. Next time, maybe they’ll wait. Builds Confidence Entrusting children with responsibility boosts their confidence. When children are successful with smaller tasks, they are more confident to take on more complex assignments. Meringue, anyone? Following a recipe through from beginning to end shows children they can be successful and the path to success often requires planning and work. It’s a clear reminder that persistence is rewarded with success. Promotes Bonding and Relationships Spending time in the kitchen with family strengthens bonds with loved ones. It creates a shared experience which results in a deeper more meaningful experience for everyone involved. Regardless of the outcome, children can exercise their curiosity, ask questions and learn, talk about everything and anything, and have fun and laugh with the family. Children thrive on accomplishment, and cooking together is an excellent way families can boost that sense of accomplishment. Cooking together inspires children to seek out other ways to try new things and add to their roster of accomplishments. Spending time in the kitchen with your children has the added benefit of cultivating a healthy interest in food that will last a lifetime.
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October is Bullying Prevention Month
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. It's a good time to talk about what parents and caregivers can do to strengthen their teen’s resiliency to bullying, but before we tackle what parents can do, let’s talk about what bullying is. Bullying is more than teasing or name calling. Bullying is repeated, aggressive behavior intended to intimidate or hurt someone physically or emotionally. Whether in person or online through social media or gaming platforms, bullying affects everyone involved including the target, witnesses, and the bully. What can parents and caregivers do to enhance their teen’s resiliency to bullying behavior? Family Circus Teens ready to express their feelings with confidence are less likely to use aggression to meet their needs for position, power, and safety. When parents talk with their children about their own emotions and how they manage them, children learn that it is okay to acknowledge and address emotions together. This promotes a home environment where emotional awareness and open communication is the norm and teens are comfortable sharing their fears and their joys. In this family dynamic, teens are more likely to seek advice and support from their parents and less likely to suppress their emotions, which if left unaddressed can lead to aggressive or self-destructive behavior. Walk the Talk Teens learn behavior through observation. What they observe at home sets the model for their concept of what relationships should look like. If they observe respectful interactions and peaceful conflict resolution, children learn to prioritize their relationships, even when they are in conflict. Talk to your teens about forming and maintaining healthy relationships and demonstrate that model of respect for them. Listen for Understanding A culture of open communication at home promotes an environment of trust and support. When adolescents and teens feel they can be open and honest with their parents and caregivers, they are more likely to seek help at the first sign of concern or uncertainty. Listen to your teen. Ask questions about their school day. Get to know their friends. Listen to what they are saying and what they are not saying. When you have a strong understanding of what their life is like, who they spend their time with, and what worries or excites them, you have a baseline to evaluate indications that something is wrong. They will be more likely to come to you to talk about potential bullying situations so you can help them manage them before they escalate. Be ready for them to share things you may not want to hear. If they are doing or have done things that make you uncomfortable or flat out disapprove of, talk with them about your concerns without dismissing them. Get Involved Human beings are social creatures. We derive strength and comfort from the close bonds we develop. Get your teen involved in activities outside of school like sports or clubs where more friendships can be cultivated. Teens thrive in the connectedness and belonging of a supportive social network. Teens with healthy friendships are more confident and secure in themselves and less likely to be involved in bullying behavior. Sticks and Stones At some point, your teen may be the target of aggression or harassment. Talk with your teen about healthy ways to respond to the negative behavior. A quick response from your teen would make clear the negative behavior is unacceptable. For example, if a peer is spreading rumors about your teen, your teen could say, “we don’t have to be friends, but stop spreading rumors about me.” As children grow up, they will begin to pull away as they become independent individuals. However, as mature as they become, they still need you in their corner. During these developmental years, open communication, support, and seeing you as a positive role model will prepare them to overcome the negative behaviors they encounter.
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Action Packed
Keeping kids active during summer break is one thing, but keeping them active once school starts is another challenge altogether. With the morning rush to get everyone out the door on time, a nonstop work day, the mad dash to get everyone home and fed at the end of the day, not to mention the added screen time from homework, it can seem impossible to find the time for the 60 minutes of daily physical activity your child needs. That’s right. Children and adolescents ages 6-17 should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Before you throw your hands up and scream, “I don’t have another 60 minutes in my day,” take comfort in this good news. The 60 minutes of physical activity does not have to be continuous. It means your child won’t have to join a sports team or go for a run every day. Though it does mean they have to break a sweat. They need move enough to so that their heart rate increases and they breathe harder. The key to keeping kids active during the school year is finding activities to make it easy and fun. Engaging them in activities that are age and ability appropriate will help your child feel successful increasing the likelihood they will want to continue with the activity. Keeping your attitude positive and your words encouraging will keep even the most reluctant kids moving. Physical activity promotes stronger muscles and bones to help maintain a healthy weight. Regular physical activity also promotes a better night’s sleep, increases energy levels, stimulates brain function, improves emotional health, and boosts cognitive development. Consider doing activities together. Take a bike ride after dinner, go for a brisk walk, or turn on some music and break out your best dance moves. Don’t forget to get your children involved in household chores. Raking leaves, shoveling snow, gardening, vacuuming, and sweeping can add physical activity to your child’s day and ease your daily burden as a bonus! Park farther away from the shops when doing your errands so you have to take more steps to reach your destination and encourage your child to take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you have younger kids, play tag in the yard, go to the park, or play Frisbee. If you’re stuck indoors, play balloon volleyball, build an indoor obstacle course, or create a “race” course by sitting on a pillow case and using your arms and legs to scoot around the race track. For older children, set up challenges to see who can sit on the wall the longest, do the most sit-ups, or hold a plank the longest. Then set goals and run the challenges weekly or monthly. Help your teens put together their own workout routine using exercises like pushups, jumping jacks, squats, and lunges. Most importantly, embrace your role as a model for your children. Children mimic what they see you do. Demonstrate how physical activity can be a consistent part of your day. When they see you taking the active choice, chances are your children will want to make habits of these healthy choices too.
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Forming Healthy Eating Habits Early
Summer season often gives us more time to step out of our routine to try new things, set new goals, and expand our daily habits. Summer is also a time of bounty with a greater variety of fresh fruits and vegetables available and ready to eat. Introducing new healthy foods to young ones before school starts can make the transition back to school easier with healthy habits under their belts. Instilling healthy habits early on will not only support children’s mental and physical states but also empower them to nourish themselves and be better prepared for life’s goals and challenges. Credits and Debits A diet full of a variety of fruits and vegetables provides the nutritional foundation of vitamins and minerals the body needs to set the stage for better academic outcomes and athletic performance. We are less likely to grab sugary snacks if our bodies have the nutrition needed from whole, unprocessed foods. Offering children a choice of healthy whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and protein encourages them to provide their bodies the macro and micro nutrients they need. If their only options are sugary and salty snacks, they miss the opportunity to develop a sense of nourishing themselves and instead risk a negative loop of brain fog, fatigue, and feeling cranky, which makes us want to grab more sugar. Children typically understand the analogy of a bank account. Eating sugary or processed snacks is like withdrawing from your nutrient bank account. Without the nutritive deposits of nutrient dense foods in the diet, the account will be empty. Sugar, in particular, will deplete the body of much needed minerals every time you eat it. On the other hand, eating fruit, with its natural sugars and plenty of vitamins and minerals, is like adding to your bank account. We want to keep our accounts full so that we can spend those reserves where needed: a positive mood, mental acuity and physical well-being and performance. Talk to your children about the positive outcomes of eating a diet rich in vitamins and minerals to broaden their understanding of the relationship between nutrition and health. Aim for Nutrition Having a goal in mind and a plan to reach that goal is the foundation for achievement and can be implemented to reach personal academic or fitness goals. Setting a realistic goal like trying a new fruit or vegetable each week can be easier in the summertime while there is more variety. Each week, you can try goal setting with your children. If their goal is to be part of a successful soccer team, talking about the role of nutrition in fueling the body to achieve optimum physical performance can help them achieve their goal. The Farmer’s Market Classroom Taking advantage of your local farmer’s market is a great opportunity to develop healthy habits, integrate science concepts through nutrition and to incorporate nutrition into goal setting. Nutrition can easily be incorporated into your children’s goals whether they are academic performance or fitness goals. Choosing to eat healthy foods becomes a habit and an easier one once the benefits are understood. Work together with your children to integrate healthy food choices into the steps needed to achieve their goals. It could be having a fresh salad at dinner every night or trying a fruit or vegetable from the farmer’s market each week. A fresh, juicy strawberry or peach can be a very satisfying sweet treat on a hot summer day. These habits can be carried into the school year by choosing seasonal fruit as a snack over something processed. Salads are another great way to incorporate new foods into your diet. Salads made with fresh greens can become more enticing with the tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs that are in season. It’s also a great way to exercise creativity. Some children will be drawn to the variety of colors and others will be drawn to the variety of flavors and textures. They might be surprised to find that tomatoes come in a variety of colors, not just red. Likewise, there are often several varieties of cucumbers, lettuces, and potatoes at a farmer’s market that allow for a more creative outlet when preparing healthy meals. Typically, produce is harvested very early in the morning of the market to provide the freshest fruits and vegetables possible outside of picking something straight from your backyard, community, or school garden. Fresh produce that comes directly from the farm to your table will have the most nutrition since it has spent very little time in transit to the grocery store. Oftentimes, the farmers at the produce stand are eager to talk about their farm, what they grow, and when they harvested the produce they are selling that day. The farmer’s market can be more than just place of purchase. Oftentimes, the farmers at the produce stand are eager to talk about their farm, what they grow, and when they harvested the produce they are selling that day. These markets offer an invaluable way to connect with your community to learn new things and share ideas. For instance, if a vegetable is new to you and you are not sure how to prepare it, the farmer is usually happy to share a simple and delicious way to prepare something. Learning about the farms in your area and their role in growing regional produce can open a new world of understanding of where our food comes from and who grows it. Learning about seasons and the regional diversity of crops can offer a lens through which to look deeper into the relationship between your local climate, agriculture, and food systems. It presents a great opportunity to incorporate nutrition into geography and ecology lessons. Regional geography and ecology lessons become more alive when the aspect of foods traditionally grown in a state or region is part of the lesson. Children begin to connect the dots when they understand why citrus grows well in Florida and California, why tomatoes need hot weather, and why banana trees don’t grow in northern climates. Forming healthy eating habits early promotes healthy attitudes and expectations of the relationship between nutrition and health. Learning how to choose healthy foods will not only provide the nutrition we need but will also empower children with the information on how different foods can affect their goals and experiences in life. School and athletic performance alike are effected by our food choices. If a child has a certain goal set for the school year or their sports team, making healthy choices around food can have a positive impact if healthy habits are formed early. Now is a great time to identify goals with your children and to outline the steps needed to achieve those goals.
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Influencing Conversations
To commemorate National Alcohol Awareness Month, this year, we’ve developed a two-part blog series to review the effects of underage drinking on adolescent development, both physiological and emotional. In the first issue in the series, we outlined the negative health consequences of underage drinking including long term harm to the developing teenage brain and the role of alcohol impairment in risky decision making. Underage drinking affects the healthy development of the brain and can impact a teen’s ability to reach his or her goals. This week, we’ll explore the influences, positive expectations, and other risk factors associated with underage drinking and talk about best practices for talking to teens about refusing alcohol use and staying on track to success in life. As children mature into adolescence, they spend increasingly more time with friends and less time with parents and siblings. As such, their spheres of influence change shaping their attitudes and expectations in the process. While their social dynamics are shifting, the development of the brain is ongoing, prompting additional drives for risk taking, demonstrating independence, and challenging conventions. Simultaneously, the centers of the brain responsible for critical thinking and decision making are still under development fostering more impulsive behavior. Teens sometimes experiment with alcohol in an effort to “fit in” in social situations With the additional independence afforded teenagers, exposure to more external influences on their behavior, attitudes, and intentions via online advertisements and mature content in entertainment as well as the social influences of their peers are risk factors for negative behaviors like underage drinking. Influences like peer behavior and glamorizing portrayals of alcohol use promote positive expectations and favorable norms of alcohol use. Teens sometimes experiment with alcohol in an effort to “fit in” in social situations. Social pressures whether intrinsic or extrinsic can overpower healthy no-use norms if the teen isn’t prepared to counter those influences.Establishing and modeling healthy norms at home around alcohol and other risky behaviors from a young age sets a powerful protective barrier to equip teens to resist calls to engage. Ongoing self-efficacy development to focus priorities on short- and long-term goals, emotion management skills and positive peer bonding can positively influence decision making and prepare adolescents to resist negative behaviors. Equipping children with skills, strategies, and knowledge to resist alcohol use empowers them to make healthy decisions that are consistent with their long-term goals even when immediate pressures pull them toward use. Engage in regular dialog with your teen about the goals they’d like to achieve and explain the ways in which the health and situational consequences of drinking alcohol can compromise those goals. Talking with your teen frequently about the negative consequences of alcohol use and providing them with ample opportunities to practice refusal skills will build muscle memory, making it easier for them to act responsibly when they are faced with strong influences. emphasize alternative ways to socialize, build one’s confidence, or demonstrate maturity Challenge any misplaced expectations about alcohol use your teens have and discuss alternatives to alcohol use. For instance, the misplaced expectations that alcohol use makes us more confident or more sociable or feel more mature are promoted independently of the risks associated with alcohol use. As you talk with your teen, emphasize alternative ways to socialize, build one’s confidence, or demonstrate maturity with suggestions for taking on more responsibility at home or at school. Local community projects offer extensive opportunities for social engagement with benefits for long term academic and professional development opportunities. Check in with your teen regularly about how they can reach their short-term and long-term goals, and collaborate with them on how to stay on track and tackle challenges. Encourage your teen to see the connections between the small decisions they make each day and their ability to achieve long term goals. Highlight the importance of taking the time to think through the consequences of the choices they face. Let your teen know that you are available to talk through choices and bounce ideas about decisions big or small. When you notice a glamorized portrayal of alcohol use on television, in a magazine, or online, use it as a prompt to start a discussion about the risks associated with underage drinking. Ask your teen why the show or music video isn’t showing anyone with impaired motor control or slurred speech. Talk with your teen about the damage to the brain when alcohol is consumed and explain that damage to the developing brain can hold a person back from achieving their fullest potential. Draw connections to the goals your teen is working to achieve. Be ready to listen rather than lecture and use open-ended question prompts. Make clear to your teen know that you want to help them succeed in life. Show interest in your teen’s daily ups and downs and talk about healthy ways to cope with stress, celebrate special occasions, and tackle boredom. Never refer to alcohol as a way to relax or cope with stressful situations. Share examples of your own healthy stress reduction tactics and talk openly about how going for a walk or taking some time out to listen to music effectively helps to reduce feelings of stress. Frequently practicing and modeling healthy responses to life’s obstacles will create a positive normative environment at home. The teen years are a critical time in human development and alcohol consumption can jeopardize healthy emotional and physical development in the short and long term. Parents and educators can positively influence a teen’s decision to engage in negative behaviors by maintaining an ongoing dialog and encouraging teens to consider the consequences of their daily decisions. These frequent conversations, combined with protective factors, enhance a teen’s ability to resist substance use and other problem behaviors. Influencing and ongoing conversations strengthen bonds and promote a teen’s ability to make healthy choices and forge a positive life path.
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A Glass Half Empty – The Effects of Underage Drinking
April is National Alcohol Awareness Month, and while this is a great time to focus on the effects of alcohol use, awareness is something to promote year-round. More than three decades ago, the National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) began sponsoring a campaign to raise awareness of the causes, effects, and treatments of one of the nation’s greatest public health problems: alcoholism. Today, a large portion of the thrust behind Alcohol Awareness Month is to highlight the need for prevention education on the negative health consequences of underage alcohol use. This year, to celebrate National Alcohol Awareness Month, we’re publishing a two part blog series on the negative effects of underage alcohol use and how to talk with teens about those risks. This week, we’ll present the long-term and short-term health consequences of underage drinking. The parts of the brain still developing in adolescence and young adulthood include those responsible for decision making, judgment, impulse control, learning and processing information, and memory The body and brain continue to develop well into a person’s twenties, and because they are still very much a work in progress, alcohol’s negative effects can be particularly detrimental to their growth trajectory. The parts of the brain still developing in adolescence and young adulthood include those responsible for decision making, judgment, impulse control, learning and processing information, and memory. Exposure to alcohol interferes with brain development and can have serious consequences on a teen’s present and future. Short Term Effects Alcohol affects every part of the body it encounters, but the most significant impact occurs in the brain. Alcohol is a depressant. It affects the central nervous system; particularly the spinal cord, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex, with detrimental effects on many neurotransmitter systems. The alcohol molecule is so small that it can easily enter the bloodstream and cross the blood brain barrier. As alcohol slows the nervous system, it suppresses key reflexes like breathing and the gag reflex. That means when significant amounts of alcohol have been consumed, it’s possible to vomit and choke or just stop breathing all together. The parts of the brain responsible for sound judgement and controlling impulses are two notable functions affected by alcohol consumption. A teen who drinks faces limited decision-making ability, limited impulse control, and impaired motor function. Impaired physical coordination and control results in loss of balance, slurred speech, and blurred vision. Together with impaired impulse control, the effects of alcohol impairment can have significant harmful outcomes. This puts teens who drink at high risk for poor decision making including driving under the influence or choosing to ride in a car operated by an impaired driver Long Term Effects The adolescent brain continues developing well into a person’s twenties. Because the brain is still developing through the teenage years, many parts of the brain that are impaired in the short term when a teen drinks alcohol are affected in the long term by interrupted or delayed development. Alcohol can disrupt this development affecting both brain structure and function. Damage to the hippocampus may cause cognitive or learning problems and may make the brain more prone to alcohol dependence. These risks increase with drinking at a young age and persist with low or moderate use as the areas of the brain repeatedly damaged by alcohol use do not regenerate or fully develop. While the long-term effects of teen drinking can vary depending on exposure, drinking alcohol during the teenage years could interfere with the ability to process, learn, and remember new information. Alcohol-related brain damage can result in difficulty performing simple tasks like reading a map or following a series of directions as an adult. Chronic alcohol use can damage the frontal lobes of the brain and cause a reduction in brain size. Other vital body systems are affected as well. The digestive system of heavy alcohol users is unable to absorb vitamin B-1 (Thiamine) presenting a greater risk of developing a syndrome known as Wernicke's Encephalopathy as the cerebellum is sensitive to Thiamine deficiency. Wernicke's Encephalopathy is characterized by impaired memory, confusion, and lack of coordination. Furthermore, people who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol later in life. Underage drinking can interfere with a person’s development into a healthy adult limiting their ability to reach their goals. The teen years are critical for physical and emotional development with significant cognitive development occurring during this stage. Alcohol consumption during development can cause irreparable harm in both the short and long term. Tune in for our next Alcohol Awareness Blog for best practices on talking with teens about the consequences of underage drinking and how to encourage them to resist internal and external pressures to use alcohol and other harmful substances.
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Fuel Your Strength
March is National Nutrition Month. After a year of tumult and homemade sourdough bread there has never been a better time to pause and consider the relationship between diet and resilience. In the past year, changes to routines and unprecedented circumstances have led many of us to seek solace in more baked goods, pasta dishes, and salty snacks than we might normally indulge. While it’s human nature to turn to creature comforts in trying times, research is showing an increasing connection between our mood and the diets we consume. This week, we’ll explore the emerging science behind mood and food connections and learn why it’s a good idea to harness the power of nutrition to bolster immunity, focus, and productivity. Let’s look at two scenarios. In the first scenario, we’ll pretend that breakfast consists of a coffee and doughnut on the go. The sugar and caffeine keep us going for a short while, but before long, we’re experiencing distracting hunger pangs and seeking out more sugar and simple carbohydrates to get through the busy morning. When it’s time to have lunch, our tired bodies crave another dose of rich food, laden with more sugar and simple carbohydrates, such as a few slices of pizza. The afternoon feels long, and concentrating is a challenge. After some chips, a soda, and a handful of candy, we manage to get through to the end of the workday. Exhausted, we once again turn to a dinner high in calories and unhealthy fats and low in vitamins and minerals. Now let’s look at an alternative scenario. We start the day with a nutrient-dense green smoothie, brimming with protein, vitamins, and minerals. We feel fresh and invigorated and breeze through a productive morning, snacking briefly on a handful of almonds. For lunch, we opt for a meal of lean protein and complex carbohydrates like a turkey sandwich or a salad topped with grilled chicken. After an afternoon of slaying our to-do lists, we head home for a healthy dinner of broiled fish and rice with a salad. Sleep comes easily in the comfort of knowing how many things were accomplished today. The brain and body function best when fueled by nutrient-dense whole foods. Eating high quality foods nourishes the brain and body and protects from the burden and stress of processing harmful fats, high amounts of sugar, and simple carbohydrates. Recent research has shown that adherence to nutrient dense, whole foods diets are associated with a reduction in depression. In recent years, the relationship between nutrition and mental health have gained considerable interest. Recent research has shown that adherence to nutrient dense, whole foods diets are associated with a reduction in depression. The connections between brain health, mood, and the foods we eat are greatly influenced by the synergies between brain function and gut health as mood boosting neurotransmitter production is increased by a healthy gastrointestinal tract. One of the strongest of these mood influencing chemicals is the neurotransmitter, serotonin. Serotonin helps regulate our sleep, appetite, and mood. Approximately 95% of serotonin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract. When our guts are healthy, the good bacteria increases production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, increasing our ability to focus and regulate our emotions. The best way to influence a healthy and productive gastrointestinal tract is by consuming a diet rich in a variety of healthy whole foods. Try starting each day with a Green Smoothie made from romaine lettuce, celery, pear, apple and spinach. Reflect on the impact a clean start to the day has on your energy levels, productivity and food cravings. Starting the day with whole foods is a great way to influence healthy eating throughout the day, as a diet high in nutrient dense whole foods tends to leave us craving more of the same. Conversely, when we start the day with processed foods low in nutrients and high in calories, we tend to continue gravitating towards more of those foods throughout the day. Healthy eating is an investment that will pay dividends for your body, mind, and energy levels. Try starting tomorrow off with a vitamin-rich healthy food choice and see how that good start influences your choices for lunch and dinner. When you feel your energy, focus, and patience waning, turn to a nutrient dense whole food meal for an infusion of mood-boosting vitamins and minerals. Fuel your strength from the inside out.
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Your Roadmap for Continuous Quality Improvement
Preparing children and adolescents to manage challenges and meet opportunities in life is an exciting enterprise with numerous companion benefits including preventing substance use, violence, and bullying.
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Full Implementation — Smooth, Effective Program Delivery
This week, we’ll dive into the Full Implementation Phase where all of the preparation and planning efforts will culminate in a smooth, effective program delivery effort.
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Practice Makes Perfect
The first documented use of the term “Dry Run” appeared in a Salem Daily News article in 1896. Dry runs, pilots, and dress rehearsals are still widely accepted today as a way to practice and prepare for important events. A practice run allows us to catch issues that could not have been predicted and, to the best extent possible, maximize the results.While there may not be a true state of perfection when implementing an effective prevention education strategy, good planning, observation, and adjustments to your policies and procedures work to maximize process outcomes and, ultimately, student outcomes. Because student outcomes are directly tied to fidelity of implementation, it is essential to build a system of preparation and quality assurance at the core of your implementation. The Too Good Implementation Center illustrates the five phases of implementation including Program Exploration, Installation, Initial Implementation, Full Implementation, and Sustainability. Any underlying problems which may not have been foreseen in the installation phase will reveal themselves The Initial Implementation Phase of program implementation is a critical step in the process. It is at this point when your teams’ planning and organization efforts are put to the test for the first time. Any underlying problems which may not have been foreseen in the installation phase will reveal themselves as all members of your team, whether at the administrative level, delivery level, or the assessment level, are activated. In this third chapter of the Implementation Blog Series, we’ll look at the effects of running a pilot delivery of your prevention program implementation. The Initial Program Implementation Phase serves as your test run of the plans and procedures established by your Implementation Team during the Installation Phase. During the pilot delivery, Implementation staff should monitor the pilot lesson delivery for gaps in instruction, program drift, and other unanticipated barriers to lesson delivery. The Implementation Team will collect and process outcomes data to test policies and procedures. While it is not recommended that outcomes data from your pilot delivery be submitted to funders, practicing your data collection protocols will reveal potential inconsistencies or gaps in your procedures or systems. Then you can make adjustments to procedures, enhance or revisit training protocols for instructors, and adjust scheduling or other environmental factors that could be impeding your fidelity of implementation. Following these corrections, it may be necessary to run a second pilot delivery to test your changes. When you are confident in the integrity of your implementation plan you will be ready for the next Full Implementation Phase. Just as costumes are worn in a production’s dress rehearsal, all components of a high-fidelity implementation should be included in the pilot lesson delivery. Over the course of your first lesson deliveries, the team will uncover obstacles specific to your location, population, and program. By planning for a pilot delivery of your program, you will be poised for a high fidelity of implementation in the Full Implementation Phase. In the next chapter of our five-part series, we’ll examine the goals of the Full Implementation Phase to inform the planning and execution of your outcomes-driven prevention education strategy.
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