The first Monday of October is National Child Health Day. I’m taking a little time today to share some ways you can keep your kiddos healthy while still staying on budget.
Here is my post about how to care for your children’s vision on a budget. If your kids are hard on glasses like my big kid is, contact the company/optometrist’s office if the glasses break within 6 months of receiving them. My kiddo gets 1 pair per year through insurance, and I make sure that if anything goes wrong, we contact the office and get them repaired or replaced ASAP.
Here in California vision and dental insurance is included under health insurance plans for kids 18 and under. To learn more, check the back of your kid’s health insurance card for phone numbers.
Another thing that is important to overall health is PROPER REST. The CDC recommendations can be found here. My littlest is hard to get settled for bed, so here are some of the ways we help get her ready to rest each night:
- Blue light glasses after dinner to watch TV or use devices.
- A Relaxing bath. I like Dr. Teal’s Foaming Bath with Pure Epsom Salt, Melatonin Sleep Soak with Essential Oil Blend
- After a nice, relaxing bath, I give her a calming massage with Asutra Magnesium Body Butter Lotion Lavender Scent. It’s a little pricey, but a dime size amount is enough for an entire 8-year-old kid’s body. It lasts about 6-ish months, and some of the rest of use use it too.
- Clean temperature-appropriate pajamas, sheets (I prefer 100% cotton), pillowcases, and blankets.
- Favorite stuffy.
- This star dome light is a new addition and it’s a hit. It’s the perfect amount of light without keeping the kiddo from resting. We’ve also done a fairy jar in the past too.
- If your kiddo takes meds at night, dispense them per the directions from their doctor. I give my daughter meds at about 7 p.m. I use these medicine organizers for each of us. I’m really thinking about changing to monthly ones, like this.
This long holiday weekend has been chill. We swam, deep cleaned bedrooms, and did our weekly reset. We reset today, and the extra day off was really needed. Back to school hit us hard.
Dinner: I’m making sure to start our meals with lots of veggies. With the rising costs of meat, we get most of our protein from using meat as an addition to our meals, not the main component. I realize this may not work for all families, but it helps us immensely.
You know the feeling, it’s Sunday afternoon, about lunchtime, when you realize you have to go back to work tomorrow.
I refill all of our meds for the week. If you follow me on Instagram, you seen the pictures of when I post my refill shenanigans. It takes about 15 minutes, and it’s just a good way for me to make sure that we have enough for the next 10 days or so, and that everyone will start and end their day with the medicines that they need.
Change the sheets and pillowcases. This is in my opinion, the way to ensure a good sleep on Sunday nights. It is changing the sheets, and I spray the pillows with lavender “sleep spray“.
You can register by doing any of the following:
It’s the first day of Summer Break here, and I’ve already got a list of the fun stuff we can do to get the kids off devices and out of the house. I do not want to hear about boredom at all!
My usual go-to is the swim lessons held at our local high school district, Grossmont Unified High School District. They have lessons for kids ages 3 and up. Schedules and pricing can be seen 
Hewes Family Fun 