HERE’S TIPS ON MAKING IT HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE
It’s that time of year again. Time to put away the lazy summer schedule, swimsuits and vacation and get back to a regular routine. Along with reuniting friendships and the inevitable shopping for clothes and school supplies, there are many challenges to face in the new school year: overall health, diet, exercise, rest, homework, extracurricular activities, physical and mental stress and more.
What I find best is to start the process of adapting at least a week or two before school starts to ease the process. Most children have slipped into bad habits like going to bed late, sleeping in, eating less healthy food selections and have stopped or reduced their usual supplements and vitamins. This is the time to get the whole family back on track by making healthy choices.
Children will also be exposed to sickness, peer pressure, stress and poor lunchroom food choices (most schools).
Some important tips to consider:
- Make sure that your child has seen his/her physician for a health exam within the last year (required for school health forms). This visit should also include advice on managing any health conditions and healthy diet/routines for the school year.
- Then start with a good bedtime. Studies show that young children need 10-12 hours of sleep daily; older children 9-10 for optimal health.
- Prepare what you need for the next morning the night before wherever possible, including clothes, backpack, sports equipment, homework, etc.
- Make sure there is plenty of time in the morning for minimal stress, especially until the routine is set.
- A healthy, hearty breakfast will start the day off well. Include supplements such as probiotics, fish oil, multivitamins/minerals and our Family Daily Defense. Coconut and olive oils are the best choices for cooking and baking.
- To insure health, add vegetables, vegetable juice (fresh or dried powders), probiotics or fermented foods (e.g. yogurt or kefir, preferably from the farm or homemade) to smoothies or purees in the morning and/or evening. Children should eat a minimum of three servings of vegetables and two of fruits (or juices from them) daily.
- Bone broths (preferably homemade) are a great addition to the diet. Tip: use bone broths as the water in making rice. This is rich in minerals important for children’s growing bodies.
- Unless your school is health oriented either pack a healthy lunch, including fresh fruit and vegetables and avoiding sugar and processed foods, or discuss and encourage healthy choices with your child. Think about sending popcorn, baked chips, or sweets made with honey or fruit juice as an occasional treat.
- Minimize unnecessary use of devices such as computers, cell phones, tablets, routers, etc., and use electromagnetic radiation protecting devices (search online for companies that sell these). Electromagnetic radiation has been shown to affect children’s brain function. Tip: it is best to remove all of these from a child’s bedroom at night.
- Encourage exercise, fresh air, sunlight and appropriate rest.
- Whereas every child is different, he/she should begin homework as soon as possible in the evening.
As a father of four I’d like to share a couple of ideas that my wife and I personally used in our home. If your children all work together in your great room or family room on their individual assignments it is easier for a parent to be available to help whomever needs help and in addition they can often help each other with questions about homework. This also lends itself to a warm family atmosphere, versus everyone in their own room. This is one of our grown childrens’ fondest memories.
Concerning school projects, it is invaluable to get older sibling’s ideas and input and makes for good family bonding. Even if they can only spare 15 minutes it often means so much to the younger siblings!
As many families in America already know, a once weekly family game night is a great way parents can give of their time to all the children at once.
We at Rydland Pediatrics and KidsWellness wish you a healthy and successful school year! Please let us know if we can be of any help to you and your family.
