Stress is a fact of life for a parenting student (actually for everyone)! There's getting to school in time to find a parking place and making it to class (and this is after getting the kids to child care). There's dealing with the class itself and processing the information. There's the homework, the tests, and, in many cases, working 22 hours a week on top of it all. On and on and on. See our tips below for some ways to lower stress and stay calm, cool and collected.
- Start each day with "intention." Imagine a great day ahead while you breathe slowly. Relax your muscles.
- Keep your goal in mind and see every small habit or action as a way to achieve that goal.
- When deciding how many units to take, remember that many people consider raising a child or children as equivalent to two or even three units so make good choices and don't allow yourself to over schedule.
- If you do find yourself struggling in a class, get help! Talk to the instructor, ask at CalWORKs for guidance, or go to the tutoring center https://college-skills.santarosa.edu/tutorial-centers.
- Change your mindset: See learning as a challenge you want and like. See it as fun and way towards success instead of failure.
- Start the first day of school preparing for tests: Keep up on reading and homework. Listen, take good notes, and study in a structured, steady pattern. Review notes and highlighted sections of texts daily.
- Use a hard-copy calendar instead of a phone - paper schedulers are best because students can see easily everything they need to do today, tomorrow and onward.
- Plan in advance - use the calendar to plan daily time, personal time, and time with the family. . .include some "free" times in case of an emergency or an invitation you don't want to miss.
- Be sure to take time for yourself. Either quiet time or an activity for just you.
Do you have tips? If you have a tip for staying stress-free while in school and raising children too, let us know and we will post it here. Send your tips to: jhuntington@santarosa.edu