Education
5 Tips
for managing the mid-year blues As the months become cooler and the days become shorter, the thrill of the new year may have worn off and motivation begins to fade. You may begin to hear “It’s too cold,” “It’s dark,” “I can’t be bothered,” “It’s too hard,” from your children as the midyear blues kick into full swing. So how do you keep your children motivated and manage the mid-year blues?
Set Goals Setting goals at the beginning of each week, month or term helps give clarity to where young people need to give their focus to. It allows them to decide what are the important tasks to complete and what is not a high priority. An idea is to print out the month’s calendar and help them write down what commitments they have on and what schoolwork they have due. The visual display will help children feel more organised and less stressed about what is coming up. When it comes to big tasks, it can be helpful to break them down into smaller sections and set goals of when each part should be completed by. This makes the tasks feel less overwhelming and more achievable. When they reach their goal, children feel a sense of achievement, which encourages them to keep trying and procrastinate less.
Reward Progress Children and teenagers are often driven by extrinsic rewards. It’s beneficial to take time and recognise when they have succeeded at something, for example, completing a task, finishing their chores without being asked and receiving positive feedback from a teacher. By acknowledging and rewarding progress, it gives them a sense of accomplishment, releases dopamine (a ‘feel-good’ hormone) and motivates them to continue to complete those tasks or make improvements. Extrinsic rewards such as having social time with friends, time for play, watching a favourite episode of a tv show, reading etc., can boost mood and motivation to keep going, especially with the more difficult tasks.
Encourage time for fun and play With our lives so full and busy, we can often put play and downtime low on the priority list. Children’s brains are working overtime processing and absorbing information, social situations, school work, along with their own emotions. They need downtime to
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play, create and unwind. Research suggests that having play time increases creativity and imagination and allows their brains to rest and reset. This aids in increasing productivity, improves concentration as well as assists in retaining the information they learnt during the day.
Aim for best effort vs perfection Encouraging children for their best effort instead on focusing on grades reduces stress and worry. When grades and academic results are what’s prioritised, it can make young people feel pressured and worried and can impact their mental health if they don’t achieve certain grades. Reminding them that it’s ok to make mistakes and to view them as learning moments for the future, and by helping them problem solve what they can do differently next time, it can boost their confidence in trying again and build resilience.
Promote positive wellbeing and good mental health Building a foundation of good physical and mental health begins with having a healthy diet, maintaining good sleep patterns and being active. When these things are out of balance, stress, emotions, relationships, motivation, and behaviour are impacted. Here are some ways to promote positive wellbeing and good mental health:
Your Local Families Magazine June / July 2021 www.familiesmagazine.com.au