Essential Self Care Tips Every Child Needs for Wellbeing

In this guide, practical self care covers everyday routines, asking for support and taking part in appropriate decisions. Children can develop self-care skills and participate actively in maintaining their health and wellbeing (Journal of School Nursing).

A child’s health includes physical, mental and social wellbeing (National Library of Medicine). This guide offers practical ways for educators to discuss self care, introduce manageable routines and involve families without presenting classroom activities as medical care.

Teach Practical Self Care, Not Just Ideas

Begin with a small, visible task rather than an abstract instruction. Offering healthy foods, making sure children get enough sleep and exercise, and ensuring their safety are identified as basic parts of keeping children healthy (National Library of Medicine).

Choose one task that fits the child’s age and setting:

• Put personal items in an agreed place.
• Choose a healthy snack from the available options.
• Prepare the materials needed for the next activity.
• Name an adult they can approach for help.

Demonstrate the task, invite the child to try it and use plain wording. Add another task only when it fits the child and the routine.

Support Self-Regulation with Simple Tools

Create a short “pause and choose” menu for moments when a child wants time before continuing:

• Ask an adult for help.
• Move to an agreed quiet seat.
• Draw or write what is on their mind.
• Take a short, supervised movement break.
• Use the words, “I need a moment before I answer.”

Introduce the menu when the group is settled and practise the exact wording. Keep private feelings out of public discussion unless the child chooses to share them. Related reading: 10 Ways to Build Emotional Intelligence in Children.

Know When to Seek Professional Support

Self-care routines do not replace healthcare. Children should have regular checkups, which provide opportunities to check development and catch or prevent health problems (National Library of Medicine).

For school-age children, sleep problems or a change in behaviour are also listed as reasons to see a healthcare provider outside routine checkups (National Library of Medicine). Educators can record what they directly observe and share it through the setting’s usual communication process without diagnosing the child.

This article provides general educational information, not medical advice. Ask a qualified health professional about individual health, development or wellbeing decisions.

Encourage Participation and a Sense of Belonging

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises children’s right to be informed, consulted and involved in matters affecting them, including healthcare (Journal of Advanced Nursing).

In everyday classroom routines, offer bounded choices such as:

• Which of two suitable activities to begin with.
• Whether to respond aloud, in writing or through a visual prompt.
• Which classroom responsibility to take from an available list.

Explain when something is required rather than presenting it as a choice. Invite questions and use language suited to the child’s age and communication needs.

Normalise Setbacks and Model Coping Language

Treat a setback as a moment for specific language rather than a judgement about the child. Describe what happened and offer one next action.

Sample wording includes:

• “That part did not work. Which part would you like to try again?”
• “You can ask for help or take a short pause.”
• “Let’s separate the first step from the rest of the task.”
• “What would you like me to explain again?”

Avoid labels such as “lazy,” “dramatic” or “not trying.” Keep comments tied to the immediate situation and the choices currently available.

Adapt Support to the Child and Family

Support should not assume that every child or family defines self care in the same way. In a scoping review of family-centred interventions for Indigenous children from conception to age five in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, supporting family behaviours and self-care was one of six identified strategies; culturally supportive care, flexible access, continuity and integration of healthcare, and competent and compassionate programme delivery were identified as enablers (BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth).

Keep that context attached to the finding rather than treating it as a universal template. Ask families which words, routines and forms of communication are appropriate for them. Record stated preferences, use the child’s name correctly and offer an interpreter or established accessibility support through the setting when available.

Connect Self Care with Family Partnership

Family-centred care frames parents as partners in the care team rather than visitors (Journal of Advanced Nursing). A school can apply the partnership principle without taking over healthcare decisions.

Ask families which self-care routines are already familiar, what language the child uses when requesting help and whether there are relevant communication or access needs. Invite the child’s view as well. Keep questions specific to the school context and pass individual health decisions to an appropriately qualified professional.

Build Self Care into Classroom Routines

Choose one repeatable point in the day, such as arrival, the return from lunch or preparation for home. A short check-in can use this sequence:

1. Ask, “What do you need before the next activity?”
2. Offer two or three suitable options available in the setting.
3. Agree on one immediate action.
4. Note whether follow-up from an adult is requested.
5. Revisit the request at the agreed time.

Keep participation voluntary where possible and provide non-verbal response options. Review whether the choices remain appropriate for the child’s age, communication and school context. Related reading: Everyday Social Emotional Learning Activities for Preschool.

No classroom routine guarantees a particular wellbeing result. Begin with one manageable practice, listen to the child and family, and use qualified professional guidance for individual health or development concerns.