12 Tips for a Stress-Free Back to School

Whether your kids are heading to school for the first time, starting high school or changing schools, it can often be accompanied by a little bit of stress and anxiety.

I am not just talking the kids here either – many of us mums feel very anxious and a bit teary about sending our precious bundles off the school!

I feel like a veteran school mum with one child heading to Year 12 and the other in his third year of uni. Where does the time go?

Here are my top tips to make back to school calm and stress-free!

1. Be positive

Whenever you are talking about school, keep a positive attitude. Kids will quickly pick up any anxiety or negativity you might be feeling about it. Talk about all the fun things you used to do at school and all the friends you made.

2. Pack a yummy lunch

Pack something your child loves to eat for the first day so they are looking forward to it.

3. Do a reccy (reconnaissance mission)

If you are able, get permission to visit the school in the holidays. Hang out on the swings, stroll around the buildings, find the toilets and get familiar with the layout before the big day. Most places will have an orientation day, but visiting when its quiet can make a difference.

4. Aromatherapy oils

Put a drop or two of essential oils on a hanky for your child to sniff if they are feeling a little anxious. Try 123 Nourish Me’s Calm Down and Confidence roll ons specifically designed for kids!

Mums, don’t forget to do the same for yourself!

5. Buddy up

See if you can find someone who will be in your child’s class. Have them over for a play date before-hand to get friendly and chat about school. Encourage them to look out for each other on the day.

6. Keep it simple

Make sure bags, bottles and lunch boxes are easy to access for little fingers. It’s not much fun struggling with layers of clingwrap to get to your lunch! Try these brilliant, reusable sandwich and snack pockets that have velcro closures.

7. After-school fun

Although they will most likely be exhausted, a small treat to look forward to after school can be something to get them through the day. A visit to the park or reading their favourite story perhaps?

8. Love note or magic banana

Write your kids a cute little love note, jokes or pop some stickers in their lunchbox for a nice surprise! For the ultimate in cool and eco-friendly, write a message on a banana with a skewer. By lunch time, it will have magically appeared.

9. Have a morning routine

A set time to get up and a routine to follow will keep that morning chaos to a minimum and keep everyone calm. Use checklists and have a central point for the all school stuff.

10. Play school

Have a fun day at home where you play ‘school’. Get up, get ready, get the uniform on and have brekky in real school time. Go outside for lunch and practice opening the new lunch boxes.

11. Crystals

Let your child choose a few crystals to carry in their pocket. Agate is calming and comforting. Calcite helps alleviate fear and can reduce stress. Aquamarine can calm nerves and help banish fear and phobias. My kids have always loved doing this!

12. Flower Essences

Alisha at Naughty Naturopath Mum has an amazing Back to School pack containing four flower essence blends for kids (and parents) to help with back to school emotions. Find them here.

What tips do you have for a stress free back to school?

Today I am telling you all about my love affair with Australian Bushflower Essences and giving you the chance to try some for yourself.

My family and I find them incredibly beneficial and will be life long fans. Another ‘tool’ to support us in a happy, healthy, holistic life. I have an even deeper understanding and appreciation of them since I met my beautiful friend Alisha, who is a qualified and very experienced essence practitioner at Naughty Naturopath Mum.

So, what are Australian Bushflower Essences?

They are the essence of our native bushflowers used as a system of healing. The way I understand it is that homeopathic remedies work on the physical body whereas flower essences work on the emotional side of us. There are other flower remedies but I found the Australian Bushflowers Essences resonated more strongly with me and were more effective.

Alisha says… “The essences provide energetic release of stored issues that may be blocking you from achieving emotional and physical balance.

Once the emotion or memory has been released from the subconscious, the physical issue that came about from this emotion has the freedom to go back into balance.

Ian White, a scientist and 5th generation herbalist, is the founder of this type of medicine and since 1987, Ian has travelled Australia to find the native flowers to make each remedy. Now naturopaths, medical doctors, pharmacists and energy healers work with them on the basis that when emotional balance is restored, true healing can occur.”

How do you take them?

The essences come in the form of drops, mists and in skin care.

The drops come in ready-made blends for common ailments or conditions or you can get a custom made blend. Alisha asks you a series of questions about your current situation and mindset. Using her extensive knowledge and experience of the bushflowers and her intuition, she prepares a special blend to help you at the point in time. You generally take 7 drops under the tongue.

Alisha has also come up with three ready-made blends of her own devising. Mama Mojo Drops, Fussy Eaters Blend and Cravings Control Drops. She is getting a huge amount of positive feedback about them.

The mists are a combination of the essences and aromatherapy oils. You can use them as a skin toner or hydrater, but also they are powerful enough to shift energy. I talked about how much I love the Space Clearing Mist here.

The skin care range is called The Love System. It is beautiful organic skin care infused with the bushflower essences and aromatherapy oils. You actually feel the effect of the essences as it sinks into your skin. It is a very sublime feeling.

What do you use them for?

Alisha says …. “The most common remedies I make up are for anxiety, stress, sleeping issues, depression, hormonal imbalance, ADHD, digestive issues, concentration, memory and focus, motivation, purpose and life direction, grief, moving on and letting go of old hurts and traumas, addictions and obsessive type behaviours, bed wetting, teething, weight issues and more.

Anyone and everyone can take them for absolutely any imbalance you can think of! Whether it’s physical or emotional, there is a blend of essences for it! They are safe and gentle for any age from newborn babies upwards and they are safe during pregnancy, breastfeeding and alongside of any prescription medications or supplements.”

What do I think?

I like to use the drops, mists and skin care regularly as I feel it creates a kind of ‘layering’ effect. I have found the range to work for so many conditions, not just on me, but my whole family. I will tell you of two significant events that I found the essences incredibly powerful for.

The first was taking Emergency Essence for some panic attacks I was having last year. Within a few minutes of taking the drops under my tongue, I was able to calm right down and come out of the panic attack. Needless to say I don’t go anywhere without my Emergency Essence anymore!

The second was when I had broken my ankle earlier this year. I was bedridden for two months and did not think I would cope well mentally and emotionally with this challenge. Alisha came to my rescue with a custom-made blend that allowed me to say focused, positive and happy. I noticed when I ran out of drops that I started to get depressed and cranky with being cooped up. I have her number on speed dial now!! 😉

I will let you in on a little secret and I am not just saying this because she is my friend either. I really think that the love and intuition that Alisha uses to prepare her essences is pretty magical. I have used other essences from a store and they just don’t have the same effect on me as the ones I get from Alisha. Still good but just not as powerful. Funnily enough, Alisha told me recently that other people have been saying that too, so it’s not just me who thinks this stuff is awesome. Check out what some of Alisha’s other fans have to say.

Get in touch: Website Facebook Email

Giveaway

This giveaway has now closed. The lucky winner is BREE!

Okay, so who wants to try out the amazing Australian Bushflower Essences by Naughty Naturopath Mum? Alisha is kindly giving away one of her “Getting Back to Yourself Pack”. You can read the story how this pack came to be at Alisha’s blog here.

It contains:

♥ A personal bush flower essence blend made via e-mail consult with Alisha.

♥ An affirmation card just for you. You can say this affirmation while you are taking your drops and/or whenever you need to.

♥ A bottle of Cravings Control drops. You will take this blend when you feel like eating or drinking something that will not serve your health. This blend covers all aspects of cravings.

♥ A sample pack of the Love System Skin care range.

How to enter:

♥ Be a blog subscriber (add your email to the top right box)

♥ Be a liker of Alisha’s Facebook page, Naughty Naturopath Mum

♥ Check out Alisha’s website and comment on this blog post which product in The Love System appeals to you the most.

[box]Terms and Conditions: This giveaway run from now until Thursday the 28th of November at midnite, AEST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator from those meeting the entry requirements. The winner will be emailed and announced on this blog post. Please check your emails! Australian residents only. Good luck![/box]

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