As an adult, you know that stressing themselves out over the competition is not going to help them one little bit and may even decrease their chances of reaching their potential. If you’re a kid though, that can be really hard to see or understand, they just want to do well. But you can help. Here are some great strategies you can share with them to help manage their stress and get better results at the same time:

Encourage Proper Time Management

Time management is not just a great tool for grown-ups, it’s a way for athletic kids to actually reap some rewards from their efforts. While practice is important, especially before a big meet, ensure that your child makes time for everything else that’s important; schoolwork, homework and spending time away from it all with friends. Help them set a timetable for each day and ensure that it covers everything they need to do – and should do – and is easy to stick to.

Eat Right

Snatching snacks and junk food because they want to keep practicing is something many athletic kids are tempted to do. Don’t let them though! They need all of their energy and good health in a naturally stressful time like this and eating right is one of the best ways to maintain that. Insist that they come to the table for proper meals, not only to eat but also to get a much needed break from all that physical effort.

Sleep Right

Burning the midnight oil isn’t good for anyone and it’s certainly bad for kids trying to compete at any level of gymnastics or athletics. Set a proper bedtime (even for teens) that will give them 7-8 hours of sleep a night and even if you have to take away their laptop/smartphone or TV to make sure they get to bed on time do it. Sure, they might be a little mad for a few minutes but the improvement in the way they feel after a good night’s sleep will offset all of that pretty quickly.

Make Time for Fun

Even as a parent it can be all too easy to let your child practice for too long at one time. They need breaks or the result will be ‘burn out’, so make sure that they have time to relax, listen to music, play a video game or just chat on the phone st allow their brain to ‘recharge’ between practice sessions.

Just Breathe (Right)

Once they are in the real competition situation for some kids that is when the real stress hits. Something as simple as proper breathing can help a lot though. Encourage your kid to learn to deep breathe, breathing in, and then breathing out to a slow count of four. It will be helpful if they practice this exercise when they aren’t stressed so that they know how to do it when they actually need it.

Every parent wants their athletic child to do well in their chosen sport and especially in competitions. By making use of these tips and tricks as well as by offering an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on when they need it you can help make sure they do.

For questions and inquiries, feel free to give us a call 913-766-8918 or email us: tumble@integrityop.com

Being more specific, The Institute of Medicine recommends a daily allowance of:

•34 grams for 7-13-year-old children

•46 grams for girls ages 14 to 18

•52 grams for boys ages 14 to 18

Many young gymnasts and youth athletes though, even the ones whose parents believe that they have a very healthy diet, are not eating enough protein and their bodies and overall health may suffer because of this. But how do you know if you really should be adding more protein-rich foods into your child’s everyday diet? You don’t need a special book or even your doctor to tell you, as often their bodies will.

Here are just some of the telltale signs that your active child should be eating more protein:

They Crave Sweets and Never Quite Feel Full

One of the first signs that a child’s body is lacking the protein it needs is that they never seem to feel full and that a craving for sweets – a serious craving – occurs at the end of most of the meals they eat.

You might think that a body short on protein would point a person towards steak and eggs rather than the cookie jar but one of the crucial functions of protein within the body is to help regulate blood sugar levels. If kids are lacking in it, their blood sugar levels are likely to become completely erratic, especially after eating a meal, and the sweets craving is an attempt to get a quick energy fix.

Their Thinking is Cloudy

When a child’s blood sugar levels are up and down their concentration and ability to focus is often seriously compromised, leaving them feeling foggy and a bit out of it. This is because protein is essential for energy regulation as well, meaning that a snack might give them a brief up but without a regular intake of protein to stabilize things the fog is likely to almost become the norm.

Their Hair and Nails are a Mess

Not in the sense that they could use a visit to the salon, but in that their hair is thin and brittle – no matter how many expensive products you slather onto it to try to improve it and their nails are prone to easy splits and cracks too.

Many people fail to realize that both hair and nails are made up almost completely of protein. When a body is short on the stuff it will, in an attempt to do the best it can with the limited resources it is being given to work with, divert protein away from non-essential systems like hair and nails in order to keep more vital functions going.

Where to Get More Protein

As there is a lot of conflicting information out there about what you should and should not be feeding your children, in general, it can be rather hard to figure out just how best to add extra protein to their diet. Dairy is a good source, but didn’t you hear that they should be eating less of that? And red meat come to that matter, another good source of protein, isn’t that supposed to be bad for them as well?

Well no, LEAN red meat and low-fat dairy are both still great sources of protein, especially for kids, but so are legumes, quinoa, eggs, edamame and nuts, so even a vegetarian can boost their protein intake rather easily and still enjoy what they eat.

Youth Athletes and Protein Supplements

What those protein supplements that adult athletes are consuming in huge quantities? Nothing is wrong with supplementing a balanced diet with the occasional smoothie that includes a scoop of protein powder. The danger arises when someone, especially a growing youth, uses these powders instead of eating enough whole foods.

Additional risks emerge when a kid consumes large volumes of these processed powders. Many are loaded with sugar and unhealthful ingredients such as artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, untested herbs, antibiotics, and heavy metals. Many are not even regulated by the FDA.

Both Consumer Reports and ConsumerLab.com have conducted independent tests uncovering that many brands contain toxic chemicals and other undisclosed ingredients, while other brands were found guilty of exaggerating the amount of nutrients they supply. So, for a growing athlete they really are best avoided, and if they do need to up their protein intake it should come from their food instead.

For questions and inquiries, feel free to give us a call 913-766-8918 or email us: tumble@integrityop.com

Yet many teens seem to stay up half the night, however much you tell them it’s time to go to bed, and then stumble down for breakfast the next day yawning their heads off and looking anything but prepared for a productive day and you can’t help but feel that by 11 am they very well may be asleep at their desk. And making it to the gym awake? That will be quite a feat!

Before you assume that your teen is being defiant in refusing to stick to a bedtime or is just too into their Facebook-ing activities for their own good there may be a problem you are overlooking. Insomnia in teenagers is far more common than most adults (especially parents) might imagine. In fact in one study of teenagers aged 13-18 90% of them reported that they had trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep at least once a week.

There are as many causes of teenage insomnia as there are for the adult kind and rather than ignore the problem it really needs to be addressed so that a growing kid can operate at their best throughout the day.

Teenage Insomnia Causes

Before exploring possible remedies for even occasional teen insomnia it is best to try and determine what may be causing their sleep problems, as that will often change the way it should be treated. Common causes of teenage insomnia include:

Body Clock Issues – When we are little our body clocks function very well and it tells us when it is time to go to bed (as do our parents!) At the onset of puberty often that natural rhythm becomes disturbed and can result in difficulties in falling asleep.

Too Much Caffeine – When they were younger teens were probably kept away from drinking coffee but once they are older a trip to Starbucks can become an everyday thing, especially if they are looking for an energy boost if they had problems sleeping the night before.

Too much caffeine throughout the day is often a cause of insomnia in teens and it is not just coffee that is the culprit. Energy drinks like Red Bull that are so trendy right now can be even worse, as can many sodas.

Plain Old Stress – The teenage years can be very stressful. As we mentioned, school gets a lot harder, sports can become more intense and then there are all the problems and angst that come along with being a teenager in general to deal with. Stress and worry at any age can be a trigger for insomnia but it can all be amplified in a teen.

Teenage Insomnia Remedies

Although a trip to the doctor may be called for if their insomnia is chronic there are some simple things you can try at home that may help solve the problem:

Have Kids Cut Back on Caffeine – Suggest that your teen reduce the amount of caffeine they consume without banning it completely. Encourage them to switch to decaffeinated soda, quit the energy drinks altogether and limit their coffee intake to just one or two cups a day.

Implement Winding Down Time – Removing the video game console or TV from your teen’s room altogether will likely be a battle not worth fighting, but you can insist that all computers, TVs and video games are turned off at least a half hour before bedtime to give your teen’s brain a little time to relax.

Encourage Them to Share Their Worries – As also previously mentioned, stress and worry is a major cause of teen insomnia but most teenagers will not always willingly come to you to discuss many off their concerns. Therefore it falls to parents to talk to their older kids to determine just what it is that is bothering them and how their concerns can be sensibly addressed.

1. Modern mass agriculture techniques often leave soil lacking in important minerals that it once contained. And if the soil doesn’t have them then neither will the produce that is grown in it. In other words, right from the start, sometimes even vegetables are not quite as healthy as you thought they were!

2. Often the foods you buy in the big stores have traveled long distances to get there. During that time certain naturally occurring vitamins and minerals are depleted, especially B complex and C vitamins that we think they contain lots of.

3. Modern food preparation methods can further deplete the natural benefits of certain foods we think of as very healthy. Freezing, boiling and even microwaving can all remove nutrients from food without us ever realizing it.

4. Some mass produced foods are being genetically altered to make them look more appealing or to grow faster. This may result in them lacking in the vitamins and minerals that their unaltered counterparts possess.

5. The busy lifestyles kids. This leads often result in skipping meals, eating on the go and general extra stress, all of which can interfere with proper digestion and lead to their bodies failing to extract nutrients from food properly.

6. The number of medications, both over the counter and prescription, that the average child regularly takes has increased over the years. Many medications do deplete the bodies of those taking them of certain stored vitamins and minerals.

7. A change in the environmental makeup of the world around us often causes our bodies to use up more of the vitamins and minerals derived from food in order to better protect it from harmful toxins. This is especially true of antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C, and E.

8. Specific times in life call for an increased amount of certain vitamins and minerals. For example, growing tweens and teens need extra calcuim to support their often rapid bone growth.

9. Although we all mean to have our kids follow a healthy diet at all times doing so can be rather difficult, especially when we are very busy and/or away from home and the comforts of our own kitchen. This leads to kids missing out on continuous levels of certain vitamins and minerals.

10. Emerging research is proving that additional amounts of certain vitamins and minerals can be effective in preventing and even in treating, some health conditions.

You do not need to stock a whole medicine cabinet full of different supplements; a single good multivitamin supplement may very well be all your child need. If they do not already take one discuss which might be best for them the next time they visit their doctor.

For questions and inquiries, feel free to give us a call 913-766-8918 or email us: tumble@integrityop.com

When the problems are even more serious, you or a loved one is ill or facing a major personal crisis for example, then remaining upbeat is a real struggle.

However, according to one recent scientific study the simple act of recalling a happy memory from the past can reduce stress, as can forcing a smile when you don’t really feel like it. Other research is finding that happiness and actual physical health may also be related too. So, with all of this in mind here are some concrete reasons why putting on a happy face really can be good for you:

You’ll Live Longer

According to a Yale University study there is real evidence that optimists will live longer than pessimists. The researchers found that when people who had previously identified themselves as optimists were faced with a serious health crisis they were far more likely to recover successfully because they were willing to “actively participate” in treatments and suffered from the physical effects of stress less.

In addition, another study, this one conducted by the University of Michigan in 2011 found a decreased risk of stroke among those who described themselves as optimists rather than pessimists.

You Won’t Get a Cold So Often

Nagging little illnesses like colds and flus, can, according to a study conducted by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, can be kept at bay if you put on a happy face.

What they discovered over the course of a three-year project was that people who described themselves as ‘happy’ were three times less likely to get colds and flus than those who did not. And even when the ‘happy people’ did get a mundane illness like a cold they were far less likely to be overly affected by the symptoms.

What the researchers concluded from all of this was that happy emotions essentially send out positive signals from the brain to various bodily organs and strengthens immunity.

You’ll Feel Less Pain 

Having a surgery of any kind is never going to be described as anyone’s idea of fun but another study conducted at the University of California San Diego found a definite correlation between preoperative mood and the amount of pain people experienced during their recoveries.

Those who reported that they were generally happy prior to their procedure reported far less pain than those who did not after their surgeries were over.

According to the researchers this is likely to be because happy people’s brains produce more endorphins, clever little chemicals that not only enhance mood but also help to naturally decrease pain.

Treating Yourself is One of the Big Keys to Happiness.

All of this doesn’t sound bad right? Obviously though not every experience in life can be spun into a positive one but the simple act of resolving to try and be as happy as possible will not only make the bad times easier to bear but help you maintain better health so you can deal with them more successfully as well.

The problem is that parents are often not very good at looking after themselves, or doing something that makes them happy, instead of just falling in line with what the kids find fun.

That’s why, however busy you are, you need to treat yourself to some fun and happiness once in a while, and at Integrity Gymnastics we can help. Grab your partner and take advantage of our Parent’s Night Out. Or join one of our exciting adult dance classes to learn new skills, make new friends and dance away some of that stress.

For questions and inquiries, feel free to give us a call 913-766-8918 or email us: tumble@integrityop.com