Back to School • Leave the Crabbies Behind!

As kids go back to school, CrabbieMasters have tips for what to watch out for. So much of a child’s success is dependent on their ability to focus. Beating the Crabbies will help children do exactly that:

 

Getting plenty of sleep.

 

Eating meals on time and having healthy snacks.

 

NOT eating Junk-Food in place of healthy foods.

 

Staying Healthy by doing all of the above, as well as frequent handwashing, and in today’s world, wearing a mask.

 

The above Crabbies are those we refer to as “Primary Crabbies” because when we beat them, it is much easier to beat the other 4 Crabbies.

 

  

 

So often emotions, attitudes and behaviors interfere with learning. Beating those primary Crabbies and in turn lessoning the impact of the secondary Crabbies is key to managing emotions, improving attitudes and promoting positive behaviors.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had parents tell me that their children are having trouble in their school. They go on to describe behaviors that are causing them issues. I ask them about sleep or eating habits. I would say that 9 times out of 10, they are not getting enough sleep, or they are not getting enough to eat, or eating the kinds of foods that are not sticking with them because it is too much sugar and not enough protein. I.e. Junk-Food.

The point I want to make in this post is that even after parents recognize that their child is short on sleep or has not been getting enough to eat, it is so hard for them to get past the negative behaviors.

The truth is, when I was able to convince them that lack of sleep and not eating breakfast or needing a morning snack was the real cause of the problem, and they focused on the sleep and eating rather than the negative behavior, that behavior changed.

This is not to say that Can’t-Do, Get-Along, and Hurry-UP are never the primary issue. They certainly may be. Fortunately, there are things we can teach our children to do to beat those Crabbies too! Future posts will talk in more detail about the nature of each of the Crabbies and how to beat them.

For now, as kids go back to school, it is going to make a huge difference for your child if everyone understands the importance of beating the primary Crabbies in order to help kids with confidence issues associated with Can’t-Do; relationship issues associated with Get-Along; and transition, listening and general cooperation issues associated with Hurry-Up.

Overall, beating the Crabbies will give your child a feeling of control and well-being as they start a new school year.

Here's to a great start to the new school year!