7 Tips for Making a Back-to-School Transition
August 30, 2016
Written by Steve Milano
It’s back-to-school time, and families that don’t plan ahead for the coming lifestyle changes from summer living might be shortchanging their physical health and emotional well-being. Heeding seven simple tips can help area families avoid a wide variety of health problems and keep moms, dads and kids at their peak throughout the school year.
Breakfast Improves Grades
Between dinner and lunch, you can go as long as 18 hours without food. “Children who skip breakfast have reduced cognitive function and do worse academically than children who re-fuel each morning,” says Dr. Mitchell Mendenhall, a family medicine practitioner at the Saint Alphonsus Medical Group Karcher Clinic in Nampa. “Hungry kids can also become more irritable and aggressive.”
Write a list of breakfast combos that provide a good mix of (mostly) complex carbs, healthy fats and protein. Create weekly breakfast menus so you make sure you have what you need in the kitchen and can lay it out the night before for quick, healthy breakfasts. Coffee-cup microwave eggs, cereal with milk and fruit, oatmeal with 100 percent juice and yogurt cups with lean ham bagels are good choices.
Re-Start Sleep Cycles
About a week before school starts, children should start going to bed and getting up the next morning at the same time as they will for school.
Commit to Healthy After-School Snacking
Don’t make kids wait until 6 pm or later to eat for the first time since lunch. Kids need calories more than every six hours, especially if they are physically active. Keep healthy snacks in your kitchen, encourage your children to have a snack when they get home from school each day, and let kids know what they can and can’t have when they get home from school and what their portion sizes should be.
Don't Wait on Physicals
“If your child will need a physical exam to participate in gym class or a sport, don’t wait until the week before school starts,” advises Dr. Mendenhall. “You might have to compete for an appointment with all the other parents who waited until the last minute and may not be able to see your family physician.”
Takes Steps to Reduce Stress
Kids can become stressed out when they attend a new school, have to combine their studies with a sport or other activity, have a new teacher, or start following a tightly packed, all-day activity schedule. Build in de-stressing times for your children each week, such as no-TV or no-computer hours. Review your child’s daily and weekly schedules to determine if you’ve given them adequate time to relax and play (unstructured) during the week.
Teach Kids to Make Their Own Lunches
Kids are likely to eat healthier school lunches if they make them themselves. Get your kids involved in the process by having them plan healthy lunches that taste good, taking them to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. Practice making sandwiches and wraps, cutting veggies and bagging fruits and chips. Have them compare nutrition labels in the grocery store to see which drinks, snacks, meats, cheeses and other foods are the healthiest.
Parents Should Plan, Too
While you might think putting the kids in school during the day takes pressure off parents who have had children around the house all summer, the opposite can be true. Kids will have school projects they need help with, might be involved in sports, will have plays and pageants, and may need mom or dad to chaperone a dance or drive on a field trip. Parents should study their child’s schedule with their youngster in advance each month to determine what type of schedule adjustments mom and dad will need to make.