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A new blog series featuring tips to help lower stress levels and improve academic performance.

Did you know that simply reading to your children and talking with your children could help boost their IQ by as much as 20 percent? Research shows that providing relaxing home and school environments that are print- and material-rich are likely to reduce stress and, in turn, boost children’s achievement in a range of academic subjects, such as reading, writing, arithmetic, literature, science, and civics.

So how do you lower stress levels, better your family’s health, improve your child’s academic performance, and even potentially boost their IQ? By incorporating some simple solutions into your lives starting today.

There is no need to change your life dramatically. As a human behavior expert with a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Doctorate of Education, I’ve developed a set of Seven Simple Solutions for Smarter, Less Stressed Kids. This is a set of easy-to-follow tips that you can do with your family to help alleviate stress, strengthen focus, and improve academic performance. Try incorporating one new Simple Solution into your family routine each week for a month, and see what a difference small steps can make.

Each Simple Solution includes:

• Did You Know? The research, statistics, and some helpful information about how and why each Simple Solution can help your child.

• Simple Solution.  One general, simple, easy-to-follow activity that families can do together.

• Make It Your Own. Specific tips and ideas on how to adjust each activity based on children’s  ages and alternate ways of doing the activity.

The Rules

There are just a few rules that apply to each of these Simple Solutions:

• Turn off all televisions, laptops, tablets, and cell phones for the duration of each activity.

• Remember to treat each family member with deep respect and love.

• Build trust by making eye contact with family members and show you are giving full attention.

• Remember there are no hard rights or wrongs. Each family is different, and each activity can be adjusted to suit your family.

Ready to begin? I will share one new solution in each new article here over the next month. Be sure to follow along, and try out my suggestions with your family. It’s incredible what a difference small changes can make!