Oct, 1

Marine’s autumn essentials

Autumn is here! For me, even though it means beautiful walks in the park with orange and red trees, it also means the beginning of exhaustion (shown by your summer tan going away) and 2 long months before the next holidays… I have always found that October was the hardest change of seasons: the one that takes the most its toll on your body and mind. This is why we all need a little boost. Here are my favourites :

 

Potion London: The beauty formula for hair, skin and nails

The Beauty Formula is a blend of 19 nutrients which specifically target hair, skin and nails – feeding them from the inside to help make them look healthy and youthful on the outside.

 

Institut Esthederm: Intensive Hyaluronic

The fountain of youth!

Hyaluronic acid is a molecule that is naturally present in the skin and it is the skin’s water reserve. Intensif Hyaluronic® Serum is made from a patented complex of three different forms of hyaluronic acid that penetrate the deep layers of the epidermis in order to redensify tissue by filling it with water.

 

Laboratoires Filorga: detox body treatment

Filorga Detox Body Treatment with nourishing and draining properties is a 4 actions global care that improves the skin quality of the body and provides it a new youthfulness. It stimulates the enzymes of detoxification, boost micro-circulation, has anti-ageing action with the hyaluronic and glycolic acid.

And if this wasn’t enough it is incredibly light and a delight to apply!

 

Ren: flash rinse 1 minute facial

A transforming treatment that instantly revitalizes and visibly rejuvenates the skin.

Formulated with potent water-activated Vitamin C it will neutralize urban grey in a flash, leaving skin looking firm, toned and smoothed, while reducing the signs of fatigue, photo-ageing and skin imperfections. Skin instantly glows with renewed health and radiance.

This is perfect if you don’t have much time and in need of a boost. Done every three days, you will see the change within less than two weeks!

 

Ciate nail varnish

Just because …

And if you need some more advice don’t forget to come and ask us, after all it is what we do best 🙂

 

 

Oct, 1

Natural and Organic Mess 

Last month, Soil Association organised Organic September. After much talk in between ourselves, we realised that the “organic and natural world” was all a bit confusing, even for us –health and beauty specialists.  So we wondered what it must be like for you. How can you understand anything in this jungle of logos and war of marketing? Who should we trust?

I started doing some research, but the more I got into it, the more confused I was… Clearly, it’s not clear! But one thing is sure: there is currently no legislation for natural and organic cosmetics, meaning that any company can describe its products as they like regardless of how the product was made or how much natural and organic material it contains.  But there are private standards, often established  by non for profit organisations with their own set of rules.

Because this is all very complicated and it shouldn’t, we’ve decided to break it all down for you.

 

Chapter 1: Natural or organic?

First thing first, let’s be clear on terms. I don’t know about you, but I often get confused between the words ‘natural’ and ‘organic’. Shouldn’t something natural be organic and vice versa? The beauty market is very good at confusing us; we often see the words: natural, clean, pure, organic…  But what is the difference?

Natural: means ingredients derived directly from plants or minerals. They should have had minimal or no processing. Essential oils are often classified as natural.

Organic: refers to ingredients derived from non-genetically modified plants, grown in an ecological way, with respect for the environment without the use of artificial pesticides, fertilisers or any other toxic synthetic matter. The ingredient should have been extracted and processed naturally.

So… if a product only says ‘natural’ it doesn’t mean the plants it uses are pesticides or fertilisers free…

Oct, 1

PINK OCTOBER

Prevention is the key. If you have any (even little) concern please do seek advice.

We all should exercise to do a weekly check. We are sharing this great infographic from Breast cancer Care : https://www.breastcancercare.org.uk . A great website to get info and support.

Oct, 1

Maternity Bag Must Haves

Eve et Rose

musthaves

 

Click to download

Our favourite maternal cosmetics at Make Me Feel, offers you this essential list for helping you prepare your Maternity bag.

You can simply download and print it.

We also are very happy to help you prepare all your essentials at Make Me Feel, don’t be shy and just ask us, we will be delighted to be part of this fantastic journey with you !

Oct, 1

VITAMIN D: The wonderpill!

 

By Dr Caroline Longmore

You have probably been taking vitamin to fight off colds for years…but when it comes to health benefits, Vitamin D is the real champ.

By now, most of us know that Vitamin D is a healthy by product of time in the sun, but what exactly is it? And do you have enough?

Vitamin D is a hormone, and it’s the product of a reaction that occurs when UV light strikes the skin. It’s responsible for helping regulate hundreds of other genes in the body, including those that balance mood, prevent heart disease, and absorb key nutrients like calcium and phosphorus.

It protects against muscle weakness and is involved in regulation of the heartbeat and colon cancer, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and hypocalcaemia, enhance immunity; and is necessary for thyroid function and normal blood clotting.

It is also important in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer

The medical community recommends 600 IU (international units) of Vitamin D3 a day, which comes from around 10-15 minutes of sun exposure to bare skin, sans sunscreen.

Nearly 50 percent of people have insufficient levels of Vitamin D, and an estimated 1 billion worldwide are Vitamin D deficient. Though 30 percent of those who have Vitamin D deficiency don’t exhibit any symptoms, it can lead to a slew of health issues like cardiovascular disease, depression, and dementia. Common early symptoms include muscle weakness and fatigue.

Researchers blame this ever-present Vitamin D deficiency on reduced outdoor activity and increased use of high-SPF sunscreen. And yet, physicians and scientists agree that we should continue to use sun protection.

So what’s a health-conscious sun-lover to do? Fear not: prevailing studies show that it is possible for people who use sunscreen daily to maintain their Vitamin D levels. You just have to use it effectively.

The best way  to check your levels; is a blood test.

Symptoms that may indicate vitamin D deficiency:

  1. Frequent bone breaks or fractures
  2. Inadequate bone growth in children
  3. Muscle weakness and aches
  4. Frequent colds, flu, respiratory tract infections
  5. General lethargy, tiredness, aches, and pains

There are also some pretty serious potential long-term consequences of vitamin D deficiency, including autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, immune function, hypertension, muscle weakness, and infectious diseases.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 400 IU for infants, 600 IU for children and adults, and 800 IU for elderly (over 70) and pregnant or lactating women.

If you plan to take a supplement, D3, not D2, is the form you want. Also, vitamins A, K2, and magnesium help your body use vitamin D.

Few foods naturally contain vitamin D, the form of vitamin D that we get from foods if you’re trying to boost your vitamin D intake with food, you need to be very specific. Sources include fatty fish like salmon, halibut, sardines, or tuna; egg yolk, butter, dandelion green, shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms, sweet potatoes, liver; and cod liver oil.

Some foods such as dairy products and cereals are fortified, but you would need to eat a high quantity (meaning: eat them every day) for them to make a difference.

If you’re having trouble absorbing your supplement, we recommend:

  • Take vitamin D under your tongue rather than swallowing it (sublingually).
  • Try relying on more sun exposure.
  • Increase your intake
  • Take every opportunity by spending plenty of time outside in the sunshine….but do not forget to protect your skin from sun damage though.

 

At Make Me feel, we offer a full range of Vitamin D for the whole Family. Just ask us for the Sun Vitamin!

 

Sep, 3

Sleeping With Neck Pain? Tips For the Rest You Deserve

by Frank Apodaca

Original article found here

 

At some point or another most of us have probably suffered from some sort of neck pain. Since an adult head weighs around 10 or 11 pounds, your neck truly does have it’s work cut out for it. Composed of a series of muscles, tendons, and ligaments, which encases your cervical spine, your neck is responsible for support of your head as well as movement and a passageway for your nervous system to the rest of your body.

In short: it’s pretty important.

And when it hurts, or is stiff and impedes mobility, your day really does feel like it’s at a disadvantage- especially if you woke up that way. Neck pain can be caused by a variety of things which may include injury to the joints or soft tissues, arthritis, simple strains, or even headaches. No matter the root cause, your support of it to help alleviate the discomfort is critical to healing, as is the rest you receive to help this process along.

Quick Sleep Tips

 

What Causes Neck Pain?

Most of the time neck pain isn’t serious and will go away on it’s own after a few days. It’s easy to strain your neck and experience neck pain from your posture during computer work, while sitting at a desk, or even studying. Or maybe your neck became sore or cramped while sleeping in a poor position, forcing you to try and alleviate neck pain and stiffness through the day.

Other causes may surround vertebrae damage from accidents, or even an inflammation of the soft tissues due to trauma or bruising. Arthritis, painful inflammation of the joints, may also settle in the cervical joints. Nerve compression or herniated disks can occur and cause chronic pain issues as well. Some of these issues may be more long lasting, or even cause chronic, repetitive pain and so all of these should be treated with the aide of your healthcare provider. You don’t have to depend solely on your doctor for pain relief however; there are many things you can incorporate into your lifestyle to help live more comfortably.

Unfortunately neck pain tends to bother us the most in the evenings when we struggle to find a comfortable position in order to rest and heal. Consistent pain can be unnerving and stressful, leaving you feeling exhausted and used up, so getting a good night’s sleep is paramount to your recovery. And if you cannot get comfortable due to neck pain, it can draw out the symptoms even further and cause you to suffer longer.

Occasionally you may wake from sleep with neck pain without any discernible reason why. Many times this is due to some poor choices on your part surrounding what type of pillow you choose, and how you position yourself as you sleep. Rarely does night time neck pain that you awake with have any serious long-term effects and can be easily end with a change in your own habits, as listed above. However if it continues, you may want to speak with your healthcare provider to rule out any sort of chronic, underlying issues.

Luckily, neck pain is an affliction that is fairly common. Many solutions do exist to help align your neck throughout the day, and provide a good sleeping position for neck pain each night.

 

Sleeping Tips for Neck Pain

Interrupted sleep doesn’t just leave us feeling tired, it also affects our overall health and slows down our body’s healing process. When we sleep each night our breathing slows, our body temperature drops, and our brain enters into a series of sleep stages that aides in cognitive function as well as decision making. This is also a period of time when your muscles and bones heal and grow, and your tissues rejuvenate. Obviously an interruption in this process could severely affect your day to day transactions, as well as hold you back from recovering from any pain you have been experiencing.

Neck pain often seems to be the most problematic and aggravating at night, and also where you may strain it even further through a long period of inactivity; take care to find ways to help support your neck and allow a comfortable sleeping position.

Sleeping on Your Back

The best way to relieve neck pain at night is to address your sleeping positions. The best sleep position for neck pain is to sleep on your back. This keeps your spine aligned and spine in a neutral position without any unnatural curvature or extra pressure being applied to areas along your back and neck. This is also the best position for acid reflux as long as your head is somewhat elevated. Just be sure to use the best type of pillow for neck pain in these situations.

 

Pillows for Back Sleepers

The best types of pillow for neck pain if you are a back sleeper is to make sure you have a thin, medium firm pillow that provides the neck support and contouring needed for the heft of your head itself. There are many on the market specific to back sleepers that are designed specifically for areas of the neck to rest.

 

Spinal Health

Elevate your lower legs slightly for additional spinal support by placing a rolled blanket or towel under your knees when you sleep on your back. This helps support natural spinal curvature and keeps the heavier parts of your body from putting strain on your back muscles. This is also especially helpful and the best way to sleep if you experience both upper back and neck pain simultaneously because you are correctly positioning your entire spine.

 

Neck Support

You can also use a small rolled towel under your neck for added support. This supports the soft tissues, provides a place for rest and also fills the gap created between your shoulders and base of your skull by your natural spinal arch.

 

 

 

 

 

Side Sleepers

Side-sleepers arguably have the best overall sleep position, especially if you sleep on your left due to an increase in circulation. Side sleeping keeps airways open and will properly align your spine and support your neck and head (with the correct sleeping surfaces- described below). By adding a pillow between your knees you actually add even further support to this alignment by keeping the weight of your legs from pulling down on your spine.

 

Pillows for Sleeping on Your Side

To keep from getting a stiff neck while sleeping on your side you want to make sure that you have the correct pillow. This may be the most important item for neck pain you can invest in. Proper neck support while sleeping in this position needs to be thick enough to keep your head at the correct elevation and not below your shoulders, as well as wide enough to support the entirety of the space between your shoulders.

 

 

 

 

 

Mattress Surfaces

What mattress you choose ultimately supports your sleeping position and should be an important part of your overall approach to neck pain. Back and stomach sleepers need a more firm surface to avoid having heavier parts of the body compress areas of the mattress, causing stress upon your spine. Side sleepers need a mattress that is a bit more plush, or soft, in order to allow for your back to be supported, but also curve along the shape of your shoulders and hips.

 

 

Avoid Your Stomach

Avoid sleeping on your stomach as this can cause chronic neck pain from your sleeping position. This causes rotation and pressure in your spine and forces you to rotate your neck to one side, which stretches and hold your soft tissues in an unnatural state through the night. Often pillows raise your neck upwards to in this position, causing further unnecessary flex through the neck. This makes it difficult to relax neck muscles while sleeping and you may wake more often than not with a stiff neck and upper back.

 

Pillows for Stomach Sleepers

If you must sleep on your stomach, choose a soft, thin pillow that cradles your head rather than raises it. Sleeping without a pillow is also a good option if you are willing to consider it. This will better help keep your spine aligned without adding stress to both soft tissues and your spinal column.

 

 

 

Applied Heat

Apply heat to your neck to soften muscles and relieve tension. Do this for 10 to 15 minutes each night before heading to bed. Hot showers or baths may also help.

 

 

 

 

 

Sleep Products to Help with Neck Pain

Mentioned above are some of the general products associated with sleep to help relax neck muscles while sleeping. Pillows are obvious choices due to how they can provide specific proper neck support as you rest, but other than knowing the difference between a soft or firm pillow, you may want to explore some of the other pillow choices specific to relieving neck pain.

Obviously there are many sleep products that are better than others in reducing neck and/or back pain. In fact, many are focused specifically for posture and neck pain. Pillows can, and will, cause neck pain if not chosen with your comfort in mind. Since they are not a one size fits all product as many consumers wrongly assume, you should take your time exploring what options best fit your needs.

They are the number one product to help alleviate the worst of your pain. Consider some of the following to help alleviate the discomfort associated with, or related to, nighttime neck irritation:

 

Pillows

Pay attention to the materials used in pillows to relieve neck pain. As described above your pillow choices should be based on your sleeping position, but despite that feather pillows and memory foam pillows are some of the best to buy due to how they conform to your neck and head shape to provide supportive comfort. A pillow that moves your head into a more unnatural position, or doesn’t provide any give against your weight, shouldn’t be used.

Pillows specific to arthritic neck pain, or cervical neck problems are also very popular. These therapeutic or orthopedic pillows are often shaped specifically for back or side sleepers for maximum support, and generally are made of conforming materials. Occasionally they also include a contoured roll for further neck support.

 

 

 

Pillow wedges specific for stomach sleepers also exist to help prop the upper body and allow space for face down sleeping so as to not force the neck positions that cause pain through the night.

 

 

 

Cervical roll pillows can be used in multiple ways under your neck or even under your knees to prop up body parts and provide additional relaxation. This area almost always made of some sort of foam that provides weight distribution as well as support and joint relief. These are especially helpful pillows for cervical joint pain.

 

 

 

Horseshoe shaped or travel pillows are used by many for more than just upright cat naps on a plane. These can be very helpful for proper posture as well as comfort positioning when sitting in bed reading, or even watching television.

 

 

 

Neck Supports and Braces

Neck rest supports or soft cervical collar braces also exist as adjustable, padded relief to use each night for additional alignment support, or even if you are sleeping upright. These help keep your neck in the correct position, and also provide you with the ability to let your neck rest without the normal daily function of holding it up. It may impede your ability to move it side to side, but this may occasionally be exactly what you need to end further strain and promote healing.

 

Medication

Over the counter anti-inflammatory medication, such as NSAIDS, which is found in aspirin and ibuprofen, can help alleviate pain and allow you to to rest. If pain is persistent, or has been causing insomnia, consider talking with your healthcare provider to see what else may be available. As with any medication always consult with your doctor before starting anything new.

 

 

Other Tips to Help with Neck Pain

If you are suffering from neck pain, chance are it takes place at times other than just at night. Ultimately supporting the weaknesses caused by this discomfort, and helping to speed up the healing process, should be a part of your everyday care. There are many things you can do to help create healthier spinal support and stop neck pain in it’s tracks.

Get Enough Sleep

The first thing you can do is make sure you do get enough sleep. Sleep is part of the healing process, and getting the required 7 to 9 hours each night recommended for adults is crucial to both healing and your approach to the pain itself. Getting yourself into a daily pattern of rising and sleeping helps your body to rest better and prepares you mentally for sleep, which can be helpful when you struggle with comfort.

 

Avoid Electronics

Try to avoid using cell phones and tablets for texting and gaming that forces you to look downwards, placing strain upon your neck muscles. Overtime this adds up to excessive stress to your muscles, ligaments, and tendons which can lead to degenerative damage to your cervical joints.

 

 

Hands Free Phones

If you talk on the phone a lot use a hands free device to keep you from cradling or tilting your head. This offsets your soft tissues and strains your vertebrae. Many different choices exist for a hands free experience, including those that you don’t have to connect to your ear if you find that uncomfortable.

 

 

Stretch

Stretch your neck throughout the day by tucking your chin to your chest to help relieve tension in the back of your neck and head. Rolling and tilting your head towards your shoulders can also provide tension relief. This is especially important if you sit at a desk for much of your day. Focus on proper posture when both sitting and standing. Reading also may force our head down towards the pages, the best position while reading is either relaxing in a more supported prone position, or sitting straight up without hunching shoulders or neck.

Hydrate

Drink water to help you stay hydrated and keep your joints well lubed. The material between your vertebrae is supported by your body’s hydration, so it’s important to drink the recommended 8 glasses a day for mobility and recovery.

 

 

 

Visit a Chiropractor

A chiropractic visit can do wonders for loosening muscles and checking on overall spinal health. It often doesn’t take much for one side of your body to become off balanced. This forces your body overcompensate to make up for weaknesses or acquired pain. A chiropractor can help align your spinal column, as well as provide x rays to see why you may be experiencing pain you are.

 

Get a Massage

Therapeutic massage loosens muscles throughout your body, with a focus on the many back muscles that support your core. Many times tension causes our necks to feel stiff and sore, and so regular massage will help increase the blood flow into these areas for healing and improved movement.

 

 

 

Acupuncture

Acupuncture focuses on point on your body to provide pain relief and improve circulation. Although many people who have never tried this technique and are unfamiliar with the process may be skeptical, it has widely gained acceptance in the natural remedy community for pain relief.

 

 

 

Get Moving

Exercise regularly to help keep your circulatory system strong and provide better overall health. Even low impact activity such as yoga strengthens muscles and lowers the chances of injury. This also helps especially if you have a job that keeps you fairly sedentary. Getting moving when you aren’t at work will help keep you more limber.

 

 

 

Conclusion

If you’ve been looking for a way to stop neck pain, hopefully this article has led you down the right path to be mindful of the things you may have done to cause the pain, as well as ways to help alleviate your discomfort each night. Sleep tips and neck pain aide don’t have to be a hassle in order to address the pain that has been plaguing you.

If you have been waking with a stiff or sore neck seriously consider your sleeping surface and pillow type which may be the culprit. If you have pain for other reasons, the above can help alleviate your pain and get you healing.

Sep, 1

New at Make Me Feel

 

As you may know our osteopath Orella had to leave our clinic to go back to France. Orella was a great asset for our clinic but we have found an osteopath who offers the same quality of treatment as Orella.

We are happy to welcome Elodie who will take over all osteopathy treatments at Make Me Feel.

Elodie is a French osteopath who provides treatments for the whole family.

She specialises in perinatal care and orthopaedics and has many post graduation trainings for mothers, pregnant women and babies. She also has years of experience treating adult orthopaedic issues.

Elodie speaks English and French.

To book an appointment with Elodie at Make Me Feel Pharmacy or if you have any questions call on 0207 125 0262

Osteopathy treatments available at Make Me Feel Pharmacy

Baby cranial osteopathy

  • Baby reflux, colic, constipation
  • Torticollis
  • Sleeping disorders

For More info: Click HERE

Women osteopathy

  • Preparation for delivery
  • Rebalancing after delivery
  • Back pain
  • Pelvic girdle pain
  • Breastfeeding classes
  • Baby carrying classes
  • Nausea

For More info: Click HERE

General Osteopathy

  • Anxiety
  • Stress Release
  • Sleeping problems
  • Tiredness

Orthopedic Osteopathy

  • Back pain
  • General tension
  • Neck & shoulder tension
  • Unbalanced posture
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Migraines

For More info: Click HERE

Aug, 31

What is a Parapharmacie ?

Dr Marine Vincent, Pharmacist and founder of Make Me Feel, the first parapharmacie in London tells you what is a « parapharmacie » and why she says is the ultimate health and beauty destination, with a touch of french !

First a bit of background :

A what pharmacy ?? para ? like paramedic ? or parapluie ?

The prefix « para » comes from greek and means « next to ».

So literally: A Parapharmacie : para- + pharmacie = «All non-medicinal products sold in pharmacies». In France the market is so big for classic-cult dermocosmetics that parapharmacies have been developed outside the scope of the classic pharmacies to offer a larger choice and are specialised in health, beauty and skincare products. And interesting point is that there are also managed by Doctor in pharmacies.

 

To start fully understand this concept we need to remember how French women culturally use skincare in their routine and their obsession about prevention.

French Women use few products but choose them carefully and for their quality rather than based on fashion. They often stick on their mums and grandmums advice for skincare tips and regimen and best sellers in bathroom cabinets are usually pharmaceutical dermocosmetics.

(For example the iconic Bioderma micellar water is sold every 3 seconds worldwide.)

Even mums trust and stock up their babies must have from their local pharmacy shelves such as liniment or Mustela range which is known to represent “the smell of babies!”

 

Marine says:

“Many of the absolute best beauty products we’ve found come from regular French pharmacies. When I arrived in London, 11 years ago, I used to always stock up when I was in France or ask friends to bring some back when they’re passing through. The idea of creating Make Me Feel directly come from this fact.”

 

So why the French Pharmacy products are Classic-Cult ?

We need to remember that dermocosmetics brands such as Caudalie, Nuxe, La Roche Posay, Avene, Vichy, etc … have been initially launched in French Pharmacies and most of the time created by pharmacist themselves decades ago.

Dermocosmetics have the perfect definition for a skincare product:

Safe, efficient, validated by researches, formulated by professional, gentle and very affordable. Sitting in pharmacies or parapharmacies they also necessarily recommended by professional adviser, the pharmacist.

Of course after 6 years of studies, including a year in hospital and a thesis, the French doctors in pharmacies are consider to be the expert in skin advice. Thanks to their knowledge, they have a wild picture of our skins and that allow them to give the finest expertise and recommendation for any skin problem or general health issue. And no need to wait hours or days for an appointment: they are always available for no fee !

The term “dermocosmetic” has been itself created to describe this category of pharmaceutical products, perfect hybrids between science and cosmetology.

So if we resume in few words what is a parapharmacie, we will stick on Marine’s words :

The ultimate destination for health and beauty , with a touch of French !

Aug, 31

How to maintain the summer benefits beyond the start of the school year

By Dr Julie Salomon, Paediatrician of the Qare network

For some, the start of the school year represents the excitement of novelty. For others, it is a recurring ordeal at the end of each summer that causes anxiety by just thinking about it! Here is a checklist to peacefully approach it:

Rest:

1). Make sleep a priority: while on holiday we are naturally more lenient on bedtimes. During the last week of holiday try to wake them up earlier and shorten their naps. Older children are recommended to sleep between 8 and 10 hours of sleep per night, and between 10 and 12 for smaller ones. By the end of summer we are usually far from it while this rhythm of sleep is an essential source of their stability. Let’s keep in mind that fatigue can affect mood and concentration, bring about anxiety, depression, weight gain, and for older children, alcohol consumption, and tobacco, coffee and psychotropic drugs. In one word, sleep is essential to our children, let’s give back to sleep the place it deserves!

2). Monitor screen time: from September between their commute, classes, homework and extracurricular activities, they should have little screen time. You should turn off screens an hour or two before bedtime. In addition, in order for them to have a restorative and calm sleep, it is highly advised to avoid any phones/smartphones in the child’s bedroom at night.

3). Get organised! As a parent, we know that the start of the school year for our children is ours as well. We have to get organised to ensure it goes as smooth as possible, despite our professional obligations. First, anticipate the purchase of school supplies, cloths, and sports and autumn shoes. Second, plan ahead for the baby-sitter or for the grandparents for those who can. Lastly, plan to not come home too late, and try to limit your business trips during the first days to stay reachable.

Stay in shape:

4). Go for extracurricular activities: After an often sportive and cultural summer, the extracurricular activities when thought out and selected carefully can be a source of motivation and personal development for our children. Be careful not to overload them. You have to ensure some free time, as it is physically and psychologically essential!

5). Get homework organised: After the long summer break, it is not easy for our children to go back into homework, nor to manage their own time. By getting involved you might be able to avoid the never-ending nights that conclude in family fights! Remind them that their professors generally do not take into account assignments given out by other professors, and that they should be completed as soon as possible to avoid them pilling up.

6). Schedule medical appointments: plan a medical brief with your GP on vaccine updates, and allergies with the update of the PAP (Personalised Action Plans). Take the opportunity to discuss sleep, food, and stress management… For your information, it is no longer necessary to present health certificates for sports activities that do no involve competitions.

Maternelle, collège and lycée… step by step!

7). Relax on their first day of school: it is a source of stress, but within a few days your child will have adapted and you will be reassured. Do not hesitate to explain to him/her about the different times of the day: from saying goodbye in the morning, to seeing each other again at night at home. The better the child is prepared, the better he/she will feel, and the better this step will happen for him/her and you!

8). Prepare the end of naptime for “moyennes sections”: In moyennes sections there are no more naps! To avoid our children from being tired, irritated, and confused try as early as possible to accustom your child not to have this hour of rest.

9). Collège: a great leap! Not only are they in a new and bigger establishment, the children will have to adapt to irregular timetables, a multiplicity of teachers, changing classrooms, and being with older and more advanced teenagers! At the beginning your child will feel a bit lost, stressed and vulnerable. On top of things, you will feel put at a distance, first by the collège. And second, from your child who will want to progressively show his/her independence from you…! You have to stay attentive, ready to listen, and preventing all while being careful not to share your anxiety with him/her. Overall, being the parent of a secondary school student represents a new challenge!

10). Planning the lycée: Help your teenager find a good rhythm between sleep, food, homework and screen/social media time. With their days being more filled, having to wake up earlier, he/she will feel both excitement of increasing autonomy and the first choices of orientation, but also the fatigue and anxiety that come with it. Overall, be cautious while respecting his/her freedom.