You have a lot on your plate as a parent. Between chasing after your child and keeping the house clean, it can be hard to find time for yourself. If your child is diagnosed with ADHD or Autism, then it can be even more difficult to stay on top of things.
Journaling is one of those things that can help you stay organized, keep track of your child's progress, and provide peace of mind so you know what they've learned and where they need more support. Ultimately, keeping track of not just what your child is doing, but providing you with time for YOU.
Why journal and what exactly is it?
Journaling is a great way to keep track of your child’s behavior and progress and help you remember important events.
So what is journaling? It’s basically a way to keep track of your thoughts in the moment. . You can write about anything—your concerns about your child, positive events that happened, milestones achieved, and observations in general! It helps us to remember things better, and in doing so also clear our heads so we don't have so many concerns keeping us anxious.
Journaling has been shown to support parents’ own mental health, as well as improve the sharing of information and collaboration within a child’s care team.
A digital journal
Tracto includes a journaling feature, conveniently on your phone. No more hunting around for a notebook - just tap and add your thoughts, and then share it with others in the care team (or keep it private).
In the latest release, we enhanced the journaling features of Tracto, so that you can now confidentially add photos, videos, voice notes and documents to journals (available to premium users).
Yes, you can now share videos of their creative moments, or share assessment reports with care providers, or use voice notes to instantly capture details about an incident.
And all of this is shared in a safe and confidential space.
Categorizing entries
In addition, you can also categorize entries by indicating what behavior or sign it applies to, where it occurred, and if it is an improvement or not.
This is especially important when it comes to keeping track of your child's progress and behavior. For instance, if you have a child who has trouble going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning, you can keep track of specific interventions you tried and if it worsened or improved sleep by means of journal entries categorized around sleep.
Finding the time to write entries
So you have the app. Now what?
In order to make the most out of this app, there are a few ways you can integrate it into your daily life. There is no right way or wrong way to use the journaling app – however keep in mind that the more regularly you capture entries, the more insightful the care history becomes when looking back to learn what is working - and what might not be working .
You could add a journal entry instantly after observing an important milestone. You could write entries in the morning before work or school. Your best time might be at night while they are sleeping (this works especially well when they are young). The possibilities are endless!
Journaling will help track your child's progress and give you peace of mind.
Journaling is a great way to keep track of your child's progress, as well as your own wellbeing. It will help you to share better information with therapists and other health care providers involved with your child’s care, ultimately leading to better information and decision making, and thus a happier child (and parent).
Get the updated version of Tracto today, and start simplifying the care management of your child.
