Please help my anxious, overwhelmed kid...
A sad, but common theme these days
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Back in 2010, not long after I met Susie Walton while playing beach volleyball with her at Moonlight Beach, she invited me to come to an event at the Carlsbad Public Library where she was speaking on a panel about the pressure kids were facing in childhood.
At the time I had a 10, 7 and 3 year old. I sat with my mouth agape as we watched the documentary hearing from the students about the immense pressures they were all feeling, from taking every AP offered in order get into the top colleges, to giving up free play in lieu of “pay to play” club sports. I remember leaving the talk very numb thinking, “How could this possibly get any worse for our kids? What challenges will my kids face?”
Fast forward fourteen years and add several impactful societal changes, foremost being the iPhone which was launched in 2007. By the early 2010’s, it started to really penetrate the market. By the time they started to upgrade the chips, the phones became faster, the cameras became reversible (cue: selfies!) and apps started to flood the market at record pace.
Lop on a college cheating scandal and top it with a pandemic and here we find ourselves in 2024 looking back at history perplexed. What seems like it should have been a calmer time was already stressful for our kids and now it’s feeling like it’s only exacerbated ten fold.
This is something I speak about when discussing raising empowered athletes. In order to support raising healthy strong athletes, first we must start with the foundation under them. If the foundation of nutrition, sleep, play, rest, and recovery is strong, we are better equipped to deal with the headwinds. When we feel like we’re drinking through the proverbial fire hose, we all feel over-whelmed which can lead to anxiety and depression. Many kids are now ringing the bell crying for help.
My homework assignment to myself (and any clients who will listen) is to take some time off, read a few of the books that have been piling up on the nightstand over the last few months, give yourself and your kids permission to be bored (gasp!) a bit this summer and allow for some unstructured play time. We ALL need it!
A few books I highly recommend checking out this summer: Jennifer Wallace’s Never Enough, Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, Dr. Nate Zinsser’s The Confindent Mind, and throw in a couple juicy fictional reads for good measure.
High School Graduation is behind us. Congratulations to the Class of 2024! We are so excited to see what adventures lie ahead for Kylie and all of her friends as they all fly out of the nest and explore.
We are 3:3 in high school grads- lol. Bring on summer!
Speaking of books that I love, I just received this message from one of my #RaisingAthletes podcast listeners. I love that you’re listening to me! And, I am listening to you. We had technical issues so I have reached out to Dr. Nate for a re-record so you can hear about his amazing book, The Confident Mind.
Thanks for supporting me on my journey. It is such a gift and I so appreciate you being here
Xxx
K
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Thank you to everyone who attended the Daily Rituals workshop! There have been so many amazing takeaways each week and we hope everyone is beginning to see the differences in their life.
Are you someone who needs help with reaching your goals? Did you miss my mindset workshops where taught game changing tools to unlock your superpowers???. 🦸♂️🦸♀️ Sign up here for the course replay and to be added to our Summer Facebook accountability group.
Sign up here to be on the waiting list for LIVE WORKSHOPS this OCTOBER and to be added to our Summer Facebook accountability group.
Got any questions about the course? Email matt@kirstenjonesinc.com