If you’re a student who has a family to look after, you will be used to constantly balancing work, study, caring, nursery or school runs, making tea, shopping etc. (the list goes on!) It can be very difficult to prioritise your own health and wellbeing amidst such a busy schedule. With this in mind, we would like to tell you how you can get help with budgeting, time management and managing your health and wellbeing. We’ll share a few useful tips such as how to make the most of student discounts as well as refer you to a ranges of useful sources of advice for managing a busy and varied schedule.

Money Saving Suggestions

It can seem like an ordeal sorting out how to access student discounts when being a student isn’t necessarily top of your list of priorities. You might feel as though you really haven’t the time. But there are at least two things that could really save you a lot of money.

NUS Extra

Many students are not aware that they can get discounts by applying for an NUS Extra card. The card is easy to apply for, is available to all students and gives discounts on bus travel (at the moment it’s £1 and many goods and services (including 10% off at Co-op supermarkets!) Just visit http://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/ to find out more

Railcard

www.16-25railcard.co.uk – if you are over 25 and in full-time study, you are still eligible for a railcard which give you one third off many rail fares

Cheap meals

Get inventive in the kitchen and save a few pennies. There are some great and quick ideas from the Beyond Baked Beans student food website, which we think include some family-friendly feasts! In addition, why no try this leftover stew recipe by a SHU student?

Managing your time

When you have a range of conflicting responsibilities all vying for your attention, it can seem impossible to fit everything in. Students who have families to care for are likely to be adept at time management, otherwise you’d never have embarked on studying alongside your other commitments. So you may feel there’s absolutely nothing else you can do to squeeze extra time out of your day… However, a few little changes can make a big difference.

Write things down! Whether you prefer a diary, calendar, or new-fangled gadgets like the ToDo phone app or Evernote, which you can download onto all of your devices it can really help. It may also help to keep your family or friends up to date with your uni and work commitments, e.g. by using a family wall planner.

Check your emails. It sounds so obvious but lots can be missed if you’re not in the habit of checking you emails. It’s worth checking several times a day and deleting anything you don’t need straight away so your inbox doesn’t get clogged up. With this in mind it’s worth spending a few minutes every now and again unsubscribing from lists that send you junk and spam. You could also get your uni emails diverted to your personal account and access them via your smart phone.

Talk to Tutors / Student Support Officer / fellow students. If you start to feel uncertain about a piece of coursework or are struggling to manage your deadlines, find someone to talk to at the earliest opportunity. Most courses will have a Student Support Officer, whom you can contact via your faculty helpdesk. It’s much easier to get the support you need if you speak out earlier rather than later.

Also, why not check out our page about support and advice for mature students? If you also manage caring responsibility for a disabled child or relative, we have additional information here.

Finally, please don’t neglect your own health and wellbeing amidst the busy schedule you have as a student and parent. You can get information from the NHS Five Steps to Wellbeing website but here are our own suggestions for how to stay healthy and well:

Eat Well

Omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish, flaxseed oil, nuts and seeds can help combat low mood as can folate found in cabbage, broccoli and sprouts.  Low blood sugar can affect energy and mood so don’t skip breakfast!  Healthy recipes can be found at http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/keep-momentum-how-beat-january-blues-0

Exercise and sleep

Regular moderate physical activity is effective in managing mild to moderate anxiety and depression.  This does not have to be formal exercise  and can include going for a 30 minute brisk walk several  times per week (or chasing your kids around the park!)  Student Wellbeing runs an Exercise Prescription Scheme in conjunction with SHU Active to help students manage low mood and other psychological difficulties (contact Student Wellbeing for more information).  You can also search for local organisations to help you and your family keep fit.

It’s also important to establish a regular pattern of sleep – maintaining a consistent getting up time will help with this. Of course, this does depend on the co-operation of family members! If you have help available to you, why not carve out some time for a regular slot of exercise just for yourself. You’ll probably return to family life refreshed and full of energy for those who need you.

Connect

Avoiding contact with others has an adverse effect on mood.  Countless studies have found that face to face contact is essential for our wellbeing.  Arrange to see extended family and friends regularly. Why not organise regular group outings with other families, giving your kids a chance to socialise with others too…

Get professional help

If you are worried about persistent low mood, speak to your GP or contact the Student Wellbeing Service at student.wellbeing@shu.ac.uk

Acts of kindness

Giving to others, for example through volunteering is a great way of connecting, as well as having a positive input on our wellbeing and helping to structure our time.  There are small things that we can do on a daily or weekly basis that will help other people feel good too.

Organisations that can help

The following organisations can help you to achieve some of the above as well as offering advice and support in relation to mental health and wellbeing:

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

http://www.samaritans.org/ or email jo@samaritans.org

https://bigwhitewall.com/university

http://hallamunion.org/volunteering

https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/studentwellbeing

https://www.shu.ac.uk/sport/active