I’ve been thinking this Christmas break while I’ve been off and I need to make some changes. I have become very relaxed with the food I feed my children and the amount of screen time they have in a day while at home. I’ve noticed some changes in them that I’m not a fan of and wonder if changes the two areas listed above would help.

My youngest child as been dealing with a eczema flare up that has been making her crazy. We’ve tried many different lotions, some help for a short period of time and others make it way worse. At her check up she was prescribed a storied that kind of works but I also don’t like using that every single day for 14 days take a week break and start again. At times we have moments of getting it under control but then it flares back up a day later and not in the same spot but all over her body. I wonder if the foods she eats plays a role in the flare ups along with the dry air this winter. We burn wood for heat so the air is even dryer.

I’ve also noticed some changes in my middle guy show is having some behavioral problems in school all of a sudden again and they are getting worse. He has a plan in place for at school but I also wonder if the amount of screen time he gets and the food he eats plays a role in this big behavioral change also. He is picker then my other two children and will only eat certain foods and sometimes wont even try the foods I make. I’ve also noticed he has some bags under his eyes which could mean many things but one thing I think contributes to that is he has a late bedtime which not only contributes to the dark cirlces but also his overall behavior.

My oldest child doesn’t really have anything going on skin wise, behavioral wise, or health wise. He did have a tonsillectomy due to his tonsils being so large, he had strep throat too many times, and he slept terribly with lots of snoring. With the amount of snoring I was describing to his doctor he was concerned that childhood slep apnea was happening and that was the cherry on the cake to get them removed. I wonder if his body would heal better if I change the food he eats too and possibly the environment around him.

My myself I have noticed again that I spent way to much time on my stupid phone on instagram, facebook, and snapchat. This feels like a continues battle I keep fighting. I will do really good for months and then boom I can’t seem to put the stupid thing down. I wonder if this will always be a constant thing I’ll need to work on and/or keep myself accountable. Now that I’m more aware of this constant battle I am ready for the challenge.

With all that being said bring on the changes, which are always hard and lots of emotions will be felt from children and myself. I’m going to reduce the amount of processed foods I purchase for the kids to eat out of convenience or for our evenings so we can move quickly to the whatever child has an activity that night or for after the activity we can consume before bed. I am going to try to plan out meals better and prep ahead of time so I can cut the time it takes to prepare dinner for that night. I also plan on LARGELY reducing the screen time my kiddos get and encourage more free play. This will be the hardest task of them all. Boys use video games as a way to decompress when they come home from school which sometimes I understand but shouldn’t be used all the time. When my daughter comes home from school she right away asks for a show which I also thing she uses a way to decompress and I get but maybe they can have that but in shorter minutes. Over the next couple of days I’ll do some digging, reading, and prepping for when I start this change so there are activities from them to participate in and over time they wont need me to come up with activities and they’ll be able to do it on their own.

I’m going to start with a new bedtime routine for all three of them which will start at 8pm and hopefully they will be in bed by 9pm. My two youngest tend to fight over me and who I will snuggle with first but I think if I have all three have a snack, brush teeth, and then we read a book together on the couch with no tv on. I’m not sure my oldest will want to do the last one seeing how his in 6th grade but I will have the two youngest each pick 1 book OR they will take turns, one child picks books things night and the other child picks books for the next night.

My current humidifier is rather small and I purchased it for when I watched children in the home many years ago. I’ll get it filled and up and running tomorrow morning but I may have to look into a new one or maybe an air purifier that has a built in humidifier.

Change is good and should be welcomed but change can also be scary! Embrace the change and take it one step and day at a time.

God Bless

~Angela