This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Wrigley Jr. Company for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

This post has been in my draft file for a while now. My kids recently experienced their first round of exams in high school just this past month. I was urging them to find some strategies that help them to deal with stress when it comes to school work. In our house we implore the importance of balance. That includes school work too. A grade is not a measure of success in our house even though our kids do really well in school. There are many things that are far more important than a grade on a test. And we think that when you balance out all the things that really matter….the responsibility to themselves and their school work naturally fall into place. I’m not saying that we don’t keep tabs on it because we do….but it is just one measurement that we use in our house and it is by far not the most important measurement.      Exams, quizzes, test and school projects are part of growing up so you just have to find a way to deal with the stress. Giving kids strategies and ideas to help them decrease the stress can be helpful. This post fit right in when my friends at Juicy Fruit asked me to let you know about their new sugar free gum that tastes like Starburst (which by the way…they have in both Cherry and Strawberry!!)…..I mean that makes you feel more relaxed already…am I right?!? Save Now at Target! Here is a free printable for you to tag on your kids bulletin board. A gentle reminder to take it easy….and when they feel themselves getting stressed…to take a moment….    Chewing gum…like JuicyFruit Starburst flavor can in fact help to reduce stress. Here is one study from the Science Daily…

The results showed that participants who chewed gum had quicker reaction times and more accurate results than the participants who didn’t chew gum. This was especially the case towards the end of the task.

Kate explained: “Interestingly participants who didn’t chew gum performed slightly better at the beginning of the task but were overtaken by the end. This suggests that chewing gum helps us focus on tasks that require continuous monitoring over a longer amount of time.” source

I hope you find these helpful….and hopefully the next time your kiddos get stressed or feel overwhelmed they will refer to this list. Which flavor are you going to try? Cherry or Strawberry??