Back To School!
Back To School
It’s that time of year again! Back to homework. Back to PTO meetings. Back to the Friday night lights and other sporting events. This time of year is fun and exciting, no doubt! However, as parents it’s critical to make sure that your little ones are as prepared for this school year as possible. We all know that a new school year means new viruses, bacteria, and everything in between. While we can’t 100% guarantee that your little ones won’t catch the stomach bug that’s going around in their class, we can give you some easy tips that you can start at home to help make sure they are as healthy as possible this school year.
Encourage Healthy Sleep Habits
Oftentimes, getting your little one to sleep at a decent time on a school night can be one of the most challenging tasks that you as a parent may face. Moreover, on average, children between the ages of 6 and 13 need approximately 9-11 hours of quality sleep a night. Sleep is essential for a healthy body. For example, when your little one is asleep, his or her little body is repairing itself, fighting off foreign bodies that are potentially attacking their immune system, and growing! As adults, we can function on far less sleep than our children can. If your little one isn’t getting an adequate amount of sleep this school year, their body will let them know by becoming fatigued and eventually unhealthy.
Aside from lowering their immune system, lack of sleep can even result in weight gain for your children. The statistics for childhood obesity are climbing drastically. Adequate amounts of sleep help keep your child’s metabolism on track and can lower their chances of becoming part of the terrifying statistics associated with childhood obesity today.
Encourage Greens
Pushing for healthy eating in a home with children can be extremely difficult. Oftentimes it seems that even if a Snickers bar was dipped in green food coloring, that our children wouldn’t get within five feet of it. So why do healthy green veggies and fruits get such a bad wrap? It could be because we have made eating greens work or to seem like a chore. Why does it have to be that way? The more fun you can have and the more excited that you can get over eating greens and other healthy foods, the more excited your children will be to eat them this school year.
Moreover, there are tons of creative recipes out there that incorporate several different vegetables in a FUN way! Mexican night can be spiced up with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and so much more! This doesn’t mean that the cheese and chicken have to go away either. Another fun trick to try is smoothies. There are some pretty fantastic combinations out there to try that include both vegetables and fruits. The fruits will add sweetness to the smoothie and can overshadow the taste of vegetables such as spinach, kale, and broccoli. Your little ones will feel like it’s a treat while in reality it’s an extremely healthy and nutritious snack and immune system booster!
Encourage Daily Vitamins
Vitamins are essential for everyone, not just children. However, children who are in school and who are exposed to so many germs benefit greatly from taking daily vitamins. Today’s daily vitamins aren’t as nasty as the chalky, flavorless ones we as adults had to take 20 years ago. Today’s vitamins are really quite tasty. They come in hard chewables, soft gummies, and even smaller in pill form.
You can make this part really fun! Try making a contest out of it. For example, make a spreadsheet of everyone in the family- adults included! Every day that each member of the family takes their daily vitamins, they put a check mark next to their name. At the end of the month, check and see who had the most check marks for taking their daily vitamins and select a prize to give to the winner. This could be a trip to the zoo, the movies, or even a night of pizza and cookies!
Start This School Year Right!
Remember that your children are watching you. They pick up on everything that you do- healthy or unhealthy. Now that you have a few extra tips under your belt, let’s start this school year off with a bang! If your little one is involved in sports and is needing a sports physical, we can take care of that here in our office. We are here for you this year. Don’t hesitate to call if you need us.