As the kids head back to school, August is an ideal time for parents to hit the reset button by taking stock of the myriad challenges today’s children face. Meredith Montgomery confronts these issues head-on in “21st Century Parenting: Preparing Kids for the Future,” which offers advice for raising kind, resilient, resourceful kids in a world vastly different from the one we grew up in.

Part of that equation is nourishing children’s bodies as well as their minds, says “Food Sleuth” Melinda Hemmelgarn. In “Feeding Healthy Habits: A 10-Step Guide,” she writes about supporting school gardens, teaching kids to cook, and bonding with them in the process—all steps on the road to opening their eyes to media manipulation, the “invisible parent” that tricks them into buying and eating foods that aren’t good for their bodies or the earth.

Adults and kids will find plenty of fodder for healthy fun in this month’s issue of Natural Awakenings. Take a walk on the wild side with April Thompson’s “Wild and Wonderful: Foraging for Foodies” as your guide. Or take a cerebral spin with Marlaina Donato’s well-researched article about the positive impacts of bicycling on the brain: It can improve cognitive function, depression, chronic anxiety and other conditions boosted by happy neurotransmitters. Studies show benefits related to brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease too.

Our August spotlight shines on yet another natural brain booster: the human/animal bond. Writer Julie Peterson interviews neurologist Aysha Akhtar, author of Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies, who weighs in on the biology of this unique relationship. Julie also offers a helpful overview of the natural approach used by holistic veterinarians.

As you’re reading this letter, the Natural Awakenings team is putting the finishing touches on the Emerald Coast Holistic Health Expo, set for September 7 and 8 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center, in Fort Walton Beach. This is the fourth year we’ve produced the Expo, which showcases the latest in fitness, yoga, meditation, nutrition, functional medicine, holistic healing and green living, and it has steadily grown every year, with more guests and vendors. This year’s Expo promises to be bigger than ever, especially since we’ve moved it from March to September to better serve the local community. This event is about self-care, after all, and it makes sense to offer it when the tourists have largely gone, the kids are back in school, and the rest of us can finally take a breath and focus on our health and well-being. 

Until then, relish every moment of August—those last, carefree days of summer, and the quiet and calm that follow. 

Peace,