A short coaching-video monologue by Mary Kostka (Ohana OT) focused on non-written factors that affect a child’s handwriting success. Mary emphasizes how nutrition (especially avoiding red/yellow food dyes and reducing sugar), using lower-glycemic sweeteners (coconut sugar, real maple syrup), and ensuring a balanced diet (fruits/vegetables, smoothies, protein/greens powders) can improve focus and energy. She also stresses daily physical activity (about an hour of play) and drastically reducing screen time to build strength, coordination, and foundational skills needed before homework and handwriting work.
Aloha. Mary Koska here with Ohana ot And this is our Handwriting Success coaching program, how to improve handwriting. And this video is nutrition and more. So just some thoughts about other things that impact this child's success. In my clinic, I really see the impact of, of the child's diet and when parents make dietary changes. And I get to see what a dramatic difference that makes. And some of the things that I see that make the biggest difference are definitely food dyes, especially red dye. So cutting back on processed foods, especially ones that have those red and yellow food dyes, really help the child focus and concentrate better. And obviously sugar can play a big role in how well a child is able to, how their energy level is and how they're able to focus and be able to feel good and not have a cloudy kind of mind so that they can do their very best. And I, in my family, we've eliminated white sugar pretty well. And there's some really good substitutes that have really low glycemic levels. And one of them that I really like is coconut sugar. It looks kind of like a brown sugar, pretty much just tastes like good sugar, but it's a much lower glycemic level. And another one is just using like maple syrup, real maple syrup as a sweetener, works really well. So just little changes like that can make a big difference. And obviously having a balanced diet. Fruits and vegetables is really good. Smoothies work really well for that. There are some really good protein powders that have the greens blended in there as well. So it's another way to get more balanced diet for a child that doesn't really like to eat vegetables. And the other thing is just having some really good physical activity every day and cutting way down on screen time. Screen time is one of our biggest problems in child development today. And children doing well, they're just glued to the screen. And when they're glued to the screen, they're not moving, they're not building strength, they're not building coordination, they're not building those foundational skills. So it's just really important to have good physical play. Go to the park, ride your bike, just get a good, a good hour minimum of good physical play after school, before you even sit down to do any homework. The kids really need a chance to get to move and just have that time to help their, their body develop. It's just critically important. Aloha.
