It is such a wonderful time of year, especially for our young student-age children. Most of them have never heard the song by Alice Cooper by that title, but they think of almost nothing else starting early in the Spring. They can sleep relatively late by their usual routine standards, and love to say they have nothing planned this week. From a parent’s perspective, we’re faced with endless days of finding activities to keep them active and hopefully stimulate their mental and physical growth. In addition, vacations need to be planned, financed, and executed with the goal of fun and great memories.

Strategies

It is inspiring to watch so many creative parents planning a daily schedule that keeps our kids busy and prepares them for the next school year. The feelings of panic or dread are natural when they ask, “What can we do today?” Having dinner with the family is actually a great time to ask what they enjoyed doing already and what kind of activities they would like. Many schools offer book lists for them to read over the summer break but leading them to a time dedicated to reading also presents challenges.

Planning Tools

Creating a daily schedule of activities keeps structure in their lives and can be a great educational tool, especially teaching them to set goals and plan strategically. If they know they only have fifteen minutes to eat breakfast before their favorite show begins is a great motivator. Of course, each year this can be modified to account for their increasing age. The following is only a guideline for endless possibilities.

Sample schedule

9:00 am Wake up and have breakfast

9:30 am Mickey Mouse Club

10:00 am Fun with Math

10:30 am Outside play (Recess)

11:00 am Reading favorite books out loud or quietly

11:30 am Helping with lunch preparation

Noon Lunch

12:20 pm Helping with dishes cleanup

12:30 pm TV or iPad time

1:00 pm Art activities or other activities

2:00 pm Field trips (going to a friend's house, local pool, library)

Check out dfwchild.com for other activity suggestions.

Don’t forget to include prime locations like the Zoo, Arboretum, Aquarium, or the Perot Museum. As with any ideas, you will find some activities were a big hit, while others lost interest. Don’t be afraid to be flexible with your planning since you can modify when necessary. Even chores are a great tool for teaching character. To develop our youth, we need to keep them engaged.

Mr. Tea

Chronic disease is one of the biggest challenges facing employee health and productivity at work: More than 150 million American adults in the workforce have at least one chronic disease: including heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and mental health disorders. Chronic disease, financial stress, and psychosocial stressors at work limit a worker’s input at work, impair their ability to carry out or complete tasks, and promote absenteeism and presenteeism, all of which costs employers more than they would imagine.

A recent survey revealed that approximately 69 million workers reported missing work days due to illness last year, resulting in a total of 407 million days of work time lost. According to the Wellness Council of America, more than 100 million of these workdays are lost to low back pain. Additionally, for American workers, $136 billion in health-related productivity loss is accounted for by fatigue, which is a predominant feature of several chronic physical and mental health issues. Essentially, in the absence of wellness programs, poor employee health will continue to foster productivity loss in a vicious cycle.

Benefits of Wellness Initiatives

An effective wellness program is the one that educates workers and creates a culture of health, with the aim of initiating a healthy behavioral change in workers. These are the main benefits of wellness programs in the workplace.

***Saves Costs

***Improves Productivity

***Promotes Teamwork and Collaboration

*Excerpts from Corporate Wellness Magazine