From Pool Time to Playtime: How Summer Fun Can Disrupt Your Child’s Nervous System

Everyone loves summertime—especially your kids. No school, countless trips to the local waterpark, relaxed bedtime rules every day of the week … perhaps even a long-awaited week away at camp or a family trip to Disney World. From pool time to playtime and everything in between, the possibilities are endless. But while your kids are soaking up every sun-soaked moment, it’s essential that we, as parents, ensure their little bodies and nervous systems can keep up mentally, physically, and emotionally. 

This is where neurologically based chiropractic care can help.

I know. I know. You and your kids are simply trying to enjoy the summer, and here we are talking about chiropractic adjustments. 

How dare we! Take a day off, Doctor David!

You’re right! Stephanie and I could use another fun-filled vacation or mission trip overseas. But here’s the thing: After spending the past 10 or 11 months in a structured routine, the fun chaos of going full-on “summer mode” can be a lot all at once—even for us adults. Inevitably, our nervous systems have to work overtime to keep up, leading to imbalances you and your kids may not realize.

Next thing you know, your child is having sleep issues, mood swings, and even mysterious aches and pains. 

That’s why summertime is actually the perfect time to either get your child started under neurologically based chiropractic care or continue the progress you’ve made throughout the fall, winter, and spring. A few gentle, specific, and consistent adjustments here and there throughout the summer can help your child’s nervous system stay balanced and resilient, allowing them to continue having fun and doing all the things summer is meant for.

Chiropractic Care Helps Your Child Get the Most Out of Summertime Bliss!

Shifts in routine, even welcome ones like trips to the water park, family vacations, BBQs, and fireworks, are a lot for our kids to handle all at once. In fact, studies consistently show that up to one in six children struggle with sensory processing challenges. 

What is sensory processing, exactly? In simplified terms, it refers to how the nervous system receives, organizes, and responds to information from the senses. For instance, sound, touch, movement, sight, and smell. When everyday life is running smoothly, the nervous system can accept these stimuli with ease—sort of like a garden hose that’s been perfectly laid out on the lawn for the water to flow freely and gently over the plants below. But too much stimulation all at once can create a gushing firehose effect. 

Even if your child doesn’t have a formal sensory processing diagnosis, a quick shift to endless summertime fun can create mini sensory overload moments. Things like crowded waterparks, loud fireworks, sudden schedule changes, long plane flights, sticky clothes, wet swimsuits, late nights, endless excitement with very little downtime. Even for us adults these things can be taxing.

It all sounds fun—and it is. However, for a developing nervous system, that increased stimulation can accumulate.

Here are a few things your kids may experience this summer and how chiropractic care can help:

1. Poor sleep quality — Lack of consistent sleep or even relaxed downtime can make it challenging for the everyday kid to calm down after excitement or overstimulation. Longer daylight hours, late-night activities, and inconsistent bedtime routines don’t help matters. Neurologically focused chiropractic adjustments can calm the nervous system and promote better sleep.

2. Increased screen time — Despite all the opportunities to get outside and have fun, kids will inevitably find ways to spend time in front of their tablets, phones, gaming systems, and more. You were a kid once, too, so we’re sure you get it! The constant “hunching over” can impact the spine. It can also affect mood, focus, and physical comfort. Routine chiropractic care supports healthier nervous system function and improves posture as your kids continue to enjoy their summertime activities.

3. Rough play and injuries — For many kids, summertime means more time spent on a baseball diamond somewhere, trampoline parks, running up and down hills, bike rides, and more. At some point, they’re going to fall, cause repetitive stress on their growing bodies, or run out of gas from all the excess activity. Chiropractic care helps support healthy, active bodies.

4. Long car rides, plane flights — We mentioned this earlier. For many families, summertime means prolonged hours of sitting in the car and on planes. This can lead to lower back pain, tight hips, and mood swings. Neurologically based chiropractic care can help strengthen, relax, and alleviate tightness in muscles and the body.

5. Lack of routine — Kids need to be on a routine. Summertime doesn’t offer many options for that, and that’s OK. However, the constant unpredictability of staying up late, traveling, switching between activities, and living carefree can leave the body feeling ungrounded and overstimulated. Chiropractic care addresses this by maintaining the body’s sense of balance and routine.

Chiropractic Care Can Help With Nervous System Dysfunction

Many people think chiropractic is only for racking, cracking, and eliminating pain in the knees, lower back, and neck. They may also think chiropractic is only for adults. In reality, it’s all about improving how your nervous system functions—and it’s 100% appropriate for babies, toddlers, and children of all ages. At least, that’s the case here at our practice. Through gentle adjustments to the nervous system during their developmental years, we have seen children overcome chronic issues like those mentioned above.

And again, summertime is the perfect time to address those issues. Our scheduling is fast, easy, and convenient enough to work with even the busiest summertime schedules. Check in with us today to see how we can help this summer!

Call Compassion Family Chiropractic Today!!

At Compassion Family Chiropractic in Lewisville, TX, our goal is for you and your family to feel like a part of ours. On your first visit, you will be greeted by warm smiles and a whole team that is happy and willing to serve you. We aim to provide you with the most thorough and effective chiropractic care available while treating you with unparalleled service all along the way.

We look forward to the opportunity to become your family’s home for chiropractic care in Lewisville!

Call us today at (469) 240-2322. To learn more about Dr. David Ravdin, click here.