FAMILY FLEXIBILITY SMART SCHEDULING FOR BETTER HEALTH
Fulfilling life’s many demands should never come at the expense of your family’s health. If your household’s daily grind consists of juggling multiple schedules and commitments with little room for relaxation, you’re not alone. Here are two ideas to help your family slow things down and better ensure everyone’s physical and mental well-being stays positive as the hours fly by. A Schedule Overhaul When work commitments, paying bills, coordinating transportation for your children’s extracurricular activities, and other daily obligations lead to hurried and scattered interactions among family members, the American Heart Association recommends creating a new way forward. First, look closely at everyone’s daily schedules over a week to see where gaps may exist and which activities could be scaled back to allow for more time spent together. You can start by choosing two 30-minute slots during the week and two
hourlong slots on weekends to get everyone in one place. The goal is to have distraction- free time with your loved ones, so put away your computers and cell phones during these special moments. Stress-Smart Strategies Naturally, hectic schedules often lead to stress — not just for adults. In addition to providing children with all-important personal time with their parents and siblings, regular family activities can help parents better determine whether their kids feel undue pressure in any area of their lives. Although positive stress can help a young person rise to challenges — for example, studying for a big test or meeting the deadline for an important assignment — too much stress can hinder a child’s coping skills and lead to anxiety and depression or physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach pains. Setting consistent daily routines — the same bedtime each night, for example, or regularly scheduling family time
everyone looks forward to — will go a long way in helping them feel more in control of their days and encourage better communication with other family members.
Life is more than checking off items on our schedules. Any family can create a system that helps everyone feel happier and healthier in even the busiest times with only minor adjustments. IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Wilson, congratulations on getting back on your bike!
“Following a pelvic fracture, I needed rehab to get back into my cycling routine. Working with Dr. Scalone in water and land therapy, we addressed my gait, strength, and balance. “When I got comfortable with an exercise, Dr. Scalone modified it to make it more challenging. One exercise led to another until, by the end of the third month after my accident, I was on my bike again, riding my usual distances. “At that time, I was having some shoulder pain with my weight training exercises. Dr. Scalone and her crew helped me work through that problem. During both these rehab programs, my shoulder, posture, balance, and gait improved dramatically. “I also learned things about gait, balance, and shoulder function that I had never known and also never learned in medical school or in four years of medical training.”
–William Wilson
www.waterpt.com 2
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