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Monthly Archives

January 2018

Jan 18
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5 Tricks to Make Your New Years Resolutions Stick

By General Wellbeing, Lifestyle

We’ve almost reached the end of January, and for many people the resolutions made this year are already starting to slip. If you made some health goals for this year, they’re worth keeping! Here are five simple tips to get you back on track, and to help make sure your health goals really stick.

  1. Pick a goal that’s right for you.

If you’re going to make changes, it has to be for the right reasons. There can be a lot of pressure from society in general to make certain goals, but they’re very unlikely to stick if you’re not personally convinced.

Don’t just dust off the same goals as every year – spend some time to carefully think about the goals that are really important to you and how you might realistically achieve them with the time and resources available to you this year.

  1. Be S.M.A.R.T. with your health.

In a 1981 paper in the Journal of Management Review, George T. Doran coined an acronym that can help you make goals you can actually keep. Think S.M.A.R.T.! Make sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Vague or overly ambitious plans with no way to measure your achievements can trip you up before you even get started.

  1. Give yourself reason to celebrate.

While most people have an end-goal in mind, making a series of smaller goals to get to that point will help give you strategy and motivation. Give yourself a list of achievements to tick off along the way, and make sure to celebrate your progress! Small, permanent changes will lead to big results.

Remember that not all celebration has to include cake! Often we associate rewards with food-based treats, but for most health goals that strategy is unhelpful. Giving yourself some time off, purchasing a luxury item or a planned sleep-in will make you feel better in the long run.

  1. Stay positive.

It makes absolutely no sense to be mad at yourself for missing a step. Not only should you be proud that you are committed to improvement, remember that if your goals are making you more miserable than happy you’re more likely to throw in the towel. Take a deep breath and start again, as many times as it takes.

If you find that you’re consistently missing your targets, consider having another look at why that might be happening. Are your goals unrealistic? Do you need extra support? Do you have specific strategies in place for when you’re tempted to fall off the wagon? Your goals need to be designed to fit you, not the other way around.

  1. Get help.

Resolutions are much easier to keep when you work on them with other people. Instead of a vague announcement of your intentions, try to share your specific goals and strategies with someone who will help keep you on track in the long term.

Displaying your goals (short- and long-term) somewhere you can see them can help. There are also many apps and websites available to help you stay on track. If you have specific health goals, talk to your GP about safe and effective ways you can achieve them.

 

Click here to book an appointment with a GP to talk about your health goals –>

Jan 11
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7 Tips to Ease Your Child Into School

By Children's Health, Family Planning & Parenting, Lifestyle

Starting school is a big moment for children, but also for their parents too! Your family life will experience changes, and preparing your child to start school before the big day arrives makes the transition easier on everybody. Here are some tips to help your child feel ready for this next big step.

  1. Practice basic skills.

Using the toilet independently, reading letters and numbers, recognising their name when written and being able to follow basic instructions are just some skills you might want to think about before starting school.

  1. Do a trial run.

Make arrangements to visit the school together and meet the teacher. Try to think about areas of school life that your child might find confronting – knowing where the toilets are, where they can play at lunchtime, how to get to their classroom, where they can get a drink of water and where you’ll be picking them up is a good start.

  1. Use resources.

There is a huge range of books available that deal with the topic of starting school in a positive and uplifting way. Whether you buy them or borrow from the library, reading about the subject together can make it seem less threatening. Many children’s TV shows also feature episodes where the main characters go to school for the first time.

  1. Make it fun.

Instead of seeing uniform shopping and buying school supplies as a chore, turn it into a chance to spend some one-on-one time with your child and get them involved in the process. Depending on their personality they might want to do a fashion show in their uniform, show their new purchases to other members of the family, or help decorate their new belongings.

  1. Know their level.

If they have previously been attending kindy or day-care, have a chat to the educators to see what your child has been doing. Most states make available online a list of basic skills they expect school-aged children to have mastered, although don’t panic if your child isn’t quite there yet – children learn fast! If you do have any concerns, their future teacher is a good person to speak to.

  1. Stay calm.

Children do pick up on their parents’ emotions, so try to keep your approach upbeat but calm – at least in front of them! While you definitely don’t want to focus on the negatives, for some children there is such a thing as too much enthusiasm. For most children it helps to approach the day like a fun adventure instead of a huge, life-changing event (even though you know it is!).

  1. Encourage communication.

School encourages independence – which is a good thing, but you need to know that your child will talk to you or a trusted adult if they are experiencing a problem. Start to practice communicating before they go to school. Open communication looks different for each family, but setting time aside for one-on-one chat about their day is vital.

It’s also important that you try to keep those talks as a safe space, where they don’t feel like they will get into trouble for sharing with you (within reason of course!). Setting up a habit of communicating about the small things will give them the opportunity to share any big things that might come up.

 

Gather people around you who can support you and your family during this time – join a parenting forum, speak to the teacher, try to meet other families going to the same school, or chat to people who have been through the process before. Soon the whole process will become routine, and you’ll be able to advise other parents in the same position.

Click here to book an appointment with a GP to discuss your child’s health or development ->

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