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Kids Place Therapy Services wants to remind families that June is Summer Safety Month! The weather is warming up, the sun is shining bright, our kids are out of school for the summer, and our families will be enjoying many outdoor adventures. The sun fuels tons of outdoor activities but can also pose a major risk to people’s health, especially in our little ones.

Here are some tips to keep your family safe:

• Stay Hydrated.
  • Did you know that we should be drinking between a half ounce to an ounce for every pound that we weigh? Example: If you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink between 75 to 150 ounces of fluids per day or at least 9 glasses of water. This amount increases when we are perspiring.
• Protect Your Body from Sun Damage.
  • Sunscreen should be applied following the directions on the bottle but generally 30 minutes before outdoor activities and reapplied every two hours or after swimming or sweating.
  • Wear sunglasses or a hat to protect your eyes from the damaging UV rays. (Remember sun damage can occur year-round.)
  • Limit sun exposure during the peak hours of 10am – 4pm.
  • Use shaded areas when possible.

Signs you have spent too much time in the sun:

• Heat cramps: muscle aches or stomach cramping
  • Spend some time out of the heat relaxing for a few hours.
• Heat Exhaustion: symptoms are similar to the flu including severe thirst, fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, clammy/ pale skin, dizziness or rapid pulse.
  • Contact a doctor if symptoms worsen or don’t improve within an hour of removing oneself from the heat.
• Heat Stroke: very hot skin and exhibiting confusion.
  • Seek emergency services immediately, heat stroke can be life threatening.

Sources:

Community Health of Central Washington. “June is Summer Safety Month.” Accessed June 5th, 2021. https://chcw.org/june-is-summer-safety-month/.

WebMD. “Water and Your Diet: Staying Slim and Regular With H2O.” Accessed June 5th, 2021. https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-for-weight-loss-diet#1

Children often deal with emotional and social conflict, distractions and overstimulation in our world today.

Yoga is a tool that can help kids re-center themselves. Yoga uses breathing exercises which can energize kids or encourage relaxation.  Different breathing techniques/games help kids connect to how their bodies feel as a result of deep breathing.  Focus increases, stress is reduced and healthy hormones are released.

Here are some of the many benefits of teaching yoga to kids:

Yoga helps kids to:

• Develop body awareness
• Manage stress through breathing, awareness, meditation and healthy movement
• Develops focus and concentration
• Build strength and enhances flexibility
• Refines balance and coordination
• Boosts self-esteem and confidence

“Yoga is beneficial to children of all ages, but it has been found to be particularly so for kids with special needs. Studies have shown that yoga benefits children with autism and ADHD. NPR has reported that researchers surveyed teachers at a Bronx public school that had a daily yoga program and found that the program reduced kids’ aggressive behavior, social withdrawal, and hyperactivity, compared with a control group of kids with autism who did not practice yoga. Kristie Patten Koenig, Ph.D., an associate professor of occupational therapy at New York University who led the study, says that yoga was effective because it seemed to play to the strengths of kids with autism while also reducing stress. Autism Key, an autism support website, says that yoga helps address kids’ heightened anxiety, poor motor coordination, and weak self-regulation, something that otherwise is very difficult to do”. – an excerpt from “the benefits of yoga for kids” by Visi Tilak in Parents magazine found on https://www.parents.com/fun/sports/exercise/the-benefits-of-yoga-for-kids/

Kids Place Therapy Services offers yoga classes throughout the year. Enroll your child so that they may be able to experience the many benefits of yoga.