Depression and anxiety are plaguing our children, and stress is often a root cause…what can we do about it?
Whether we actually live stressful lives or simply stress ourselves out (or social media plays a role in over-stimulating our amygdala and fight or flight response), there’s no doubt in my mind that Americans are experiencing stress, and are not all that great at dealing with it.
And it’s showing in our children!
Past guest, Dr. Kelly Brogan, said, “Children are our sentinels,” when something is wrong. With 1/3 of teens reporting anxiety and 9-13% clinically depressed, it’s time to listen up. But what can we do to help our kids be more resistant to depression and anxiety?
This week’s guest, nutritionist Jess Sherman, has a great answer, and it’s all about increasing their RESILIENCY.
In this interview, we’ll talk about:
-
- Why even great schools aren’t able to fully tap into kids’ brilliance and potential
- Removing roadblocks to resilience (including food!)
- Why self-regulation is critical to resilience, and some factors that interfere with kids being able to self-regulate
- Foods that parents need to be aware of for best school performance
- How to get kids on board with healthy food
If you love what Jess has to say join the workshop we’re doing together about picky eating and stress!
Can’t see the video? Click to watch “Building Resilience & Reducing Stress in Kids” on YouTube.
No time to watch the whole video? Here are the notes!
Building Resilience & Reducing Stress in Kids
- 0:11: Jess Sherman started her career as a high school teacher and left teaching to study holistic health. She focuses on the impact of nutrition and stress on child development.
- 1:17: We start by defining “resilience.” Resilience is our ability to cope with stress. It allows us to adapt to change, bear adversity, and learn from failure.
- 2:04: Symptoms such as anxiety, depression, aggression, hyperactivity, and withdrawal can all be linked to high stress and an inability to deal with it.
They’re struggling to bring themselves back to balance in the face of an accumulation of stress. -Jess Sherman
Increasing Kids’ Resiliency
- 3:39: Kids are really good at pushing our buttons and stressing us out as parents or teachers. In order to effectively help them we need to step back and see them with compassion. Kids are very reactive. If we stop and ask the right questions, we can figure out what they are reacting to and then work to build their resilience back up and reduce those stressors.
- 5:06: Jess talks about her journey from high school teacher to nutritionist and resilience expert. It began with an interest in why people behave the way they do and how we can improve ourselves. She studied experiential education and ended up in a high school that had a strong focus on resilience (although she didn’t realize it at the time!). Although they did some amazing things at that school, she felt like something was being missed. She found that missing piece through her nutrition studies.
- 7:49: As she studied food and nutrition, Jess focused on the link between food and behavior.
[Food] is such a valuable tool to actually change the chemistry of the body. -Jess Sherman
Stay safe in the sun, with reef-safe sunscreens
Over the last decade+, I’ve personally tested over 120 natural mineral sunscreens, my standards are very high, and nothing I recommend is considered dangerous to coral reefs.
My top recommended tier with only around a dozen winners is where you really should be spending your time. These formulas are held to the highest standard with rigorous government testing.
Ingredients refined to perfection that most of the time you could practically eat and efficacy and performance tested by the Kimball family in the field.
Find all my reviews of safe sunscreen that works here!
If you’re looking for the best reef-safe sunscreen, simply start there. Here’s a list of some of my ultimate favorites.
- Kลkua Suncare with tons of antioxidants and my kids’ favorite scent and application
- 3rd Rock Essentials rubs in well and reliably prevents burns in our tests (use the code KITCHENSTEW for 20% off!)
- Raw Elements for so many reasons, including their tinted stick for adult faces (all styles, use KS10 for 10% off!)
- Maelove, which I call the best “transition” sunscreen when moving away from chemical ‘screens
- Others that make the top-recommended cut: Badger, ThinkBaby, Kabana
If you’re worried about the white cast on your skin from zinc oxide sunscreen, check out my video on how to apply mineral sunscreen correctly to minimize it.
A Framework for Reducing Stress in Kids
- 10:58: Jess provides a framework for parents to use to analyze their child’s stressors. She starts with three categories: social, environmental, and biological. When a child is having a tantrum or an anxious moment, you can scan through these areas and see what might be driving the behavior.
Behavior is driven by something, always. -Jess Sherman
- 12:00: We talk through some concrete examples of stressors in each of these three areas. Jess refers to biological stressors as the elephant in the room. These are the ones that might be harder to see.
- 13:39: Biological stressors can be short-term (not enough sleep last night, lack of food, too much sugar) or long-term (chronic nutrient deficiency, chronic constipation, inflammation).
- 15:04: Just because you can’t see a clear stressor doesn’t mean there isn’t one, you may have to dig deeper for a chronic stressor like a deficiency. Try tracking their tantrums or other symptoms and if you begin to see a pattern you can take that to a functional or integrative health practitioner and see if they can help figure it out. The answer is never that nothing is wrong and children are just prone to being unhinged.
Paleovalley Meat Sticks
It can be hard to find healthy snacks that you can take with you on the go. When I want the convenience of a jerky stick, but want a healthy, protein-packed snack option, I grab Paleovalley meat sticks. Paleovalley ingredients have these high standards that you can feel good about:
- 100% Grass-Fed Beef & 100% Pasture-Raised Turkey
- Never given antibiotics or hormones
- Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free
- 0 grams of sugar*
- Contains no artificial nitrates or nitrites
- Non-GMO
- Naturally fermented and contain gut-friendly probiotics!
*With the exception of Teriyaki, which contains 2 grams of sugar from Organic Honey.
These beef sticks and turkey sticks taste delicious! My favorite is the Jalapeรฑo but my kids love Summer Sausage.
Use this link to get 15% off your order at Paleovalley. Read my Paleovalley Review to learn more!
Kids, Stress, and Food
- 17:28: We focus specifically on how food affects kids at school. It’s different for every kid so you need to work with your child to determine what best fuels them and what is their kryptonite.
- 19:13: Jess boils down what she teaches parents about nutrition into four pillars: food irritation, nutrients, blood sugar support, and digestive support. You’re not going to be on top of all of them at once, but keep these four areas in mind as you evaluate your child’s diet.
- 19:41: Foods that interfere with one of those four pillars are ones to avoid. For example, food additives can cause irritation, block nutrient absorption, and mess with the gut balance.
- 20:19: There is research that shows that “foods” like food additives and sugar cause inflammation and affect behavior. These recommendations are based on science.
- 20:42: Most kids eat some of these triggering foods like dyes, sugar, dairy, and gluten daily so it becomes very difficult to see any pattern and you need to just pull them out of their diet and experiment.
- 21:29: You can choose the focus when you’re eliminating foods. If you focus on food restriction and what you can’t have that will drive complaining and frustration. If you focus on nourishment and how you are feeding your body well, it can be a bonding experience.
- 22:17: We discuss the importance of teaching your kids about healthy eating, letting them know that you’re on their team and doing this for them.
Teaching our kids about healthy food and how that affects their body is gonna take an investment of time, energy and money. -Jess Sherman
- 24:50: In Jess’s experience around age 8-9 the kids need to be brought into the conversation. They need to take ownership of what they’re eating and have an understanding of how food affects their bodies. Jess talks about foods as “brain foods,” “energy foods,” and “growing foods” to help kids understand how different foods support the body.
- 26:48: Hear how Jess addresses candy with her kids and clients.
- 27:50: Some children are better able to handle a “treat food” like an occasional bowl of ice cream if they are consistently eating well and have built up a high level of resilience. Others have less wiggle room because they are more sensitive. (We are talking about sensitivities, not food allergies.)
Resources for Reducing Stress in Kids
- Join our workshop on picky eating and stress
- Jess’s book: Raising Resilience
- Check out all of Jess’s courses here
- Find Jess online
- Follow her on Facebook or Instagram @askjesssherman
Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant™, Jess Sherman arms parents with a powerful understanding of nutrition and the body. It is her deepest commitment to bring to parents a combination of confidence and strategy so they can feel like the amazing parents they are and can help their kids thrive to their fullest. Author & mom, Jess brings nutrition to the conversation about learning, behaviour, and mental wellness. Find out more about her courses here.
What You Should Do Next:
1. Subscribe to the Healthy Parenting Handbook Newsletter
I interview experts about kids’ health every week – stay in the loop with a quick Saturday morning email:
New privacy measures can make pop-up buttons inaccessible – if the button doesn’t respond, here’s a simple, secure link to subscribe.
2. Try a Free Preview of My Cooking Class for Kids
Our members’ favorite lesson is always our 10-minute knife skills and safety class, teaching techniques with unique & memorable phrases from butter knives to chef’s knives (ages 2-teen). Take a peek here and try it out with your kids.
3. Enroll in the Online Cooking Course for Kids:
Enroll now in the Wall Street Journal’s #1 recommended online cooking class for kids (also rated 5 stars on Facebook). See what fits your family best HERE.
About Katie Kimball
Katie Kimball, CSME, creator of Kids Cook Real Food™ and CEO of Kitchen Stewardshipยฎ, LLC, is passionate about connecting families around healthy food. As a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks, sheโs been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine and contributes periodically on the FOX Network.
Since 2009, busy moms have looked to Katie as a trusted authority and advocate for childrenโs health, and she often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to stay on the cutting edge. In 2016 she created the Wall Street Journal recommended best online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food™, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook. She is actively masterminding the Kids’ Meal Revolution, with a goal of every child learning to cook.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is also a Certified Stress Mastery Educator, member of the American Institute of Stress and trained speaker through Bo Easonโs Personal Story Power.