Making back to school time healthy can be handled with ease when you incorporate these five healthy back to school tips into your children’s daily routine.

 

1. Don’t Short-Change Your Kids’ Sleep

According to the National Institute of Health, school-aged children and teens need at least 9 hours of sleep a night. You know how you feel when you sleep less than the 7-8 hours we as adults are supposed to get on average. So be sure to have an established bedtime that lets your kids get the proper rest so they are mentally and physically ready to take on the day at school.

2. Exercise Rocks!

Sadly, many schools have eliminated or reduced physical education classes.  However, just because physical activity may be lacking during school hours, it doesn’t mean your child should skip it.  If possible, have your child walk or bike to and from school, go to the local playground after school as weather permits, join a kid-friendly family gym or join a children’s sports or dance program.  Studies show that at least 60 minutes of exercise a day helps children maintain a healthy weight, build strength, stamina and self-confidence, reduce stress and sleep better.

Want your kids to be more active? Take the lead by exercising and setting a good example!  Or add some quality time by doing something active together each day.

3. A Great Day of Learning Starts with a Good Healthy Breakfast

A solid breakfast helps your children do well in school helping to support brain function, concentration and energy, and it also helps with maintaining a healthy weight.

An ideal healthy breakfast includes high quality protein like smoothies with whey protein, eggs (more egg white in proportion to whole eggs to balance cholesterol if they have them frequently) which can be made to go in a whole wheat pita, tortilla or English Muffin, turkey bacon (nitrate free if possible) or a quality energy bar like Quest Nutrition Protein Bars made from whey and milk protein (they have a cookies and cream bar that’s unbelievable).

4. Get Kids Involved in Packing a Healthy Lunch

Don’t just force a healthy packed lunch on your children, let them be part of the decision process.  Suggest a couple of healthy alternatives (and I don’t mean picking out a Lunchable-type highly processed food pack at the supermarket), let them pick one and then help you prepare it and pack it up.  Their direct involvement will make them proud to be a healthy eater and help make it a life-long habit.

To get you started, check out these 15 “kid-approved” lunch ideas from Food Network

5.  Steal Some Healthy “Me Time” for Yourself

Now that your children are occupied in the classroom again, one of the best things you can do during these precious hours is to carve out a little “me time” to help keep yourself healthy. Many of my female coaching clients tend to put taking care of their families well ahead of taking care of themselves, and when they do, they get stressed out, feel exhausted and often pack on unwanted pounds.

Make time in your day to get your own exercise in, take a few minutes to do something nice for yourself to de-stress each day and shop or prep some easy, healthy snacks and meals to have on hand for when your children are home from school for the day and you’re pulled in twenty different directions.

Here’s to a happy and healthy school year for you and your children!

Melanie Jordan is a Wellcoaches® and ACE Certified Health and Wellness Coach who specializes in coaching others to achieve healthy weight loss without gimmicks and deprivation and an ACE® Group Fitness Certified and Silver Sneakers FLEX Program Instructor who specializes in senior fitness and teaches Zumba Gold at York Senior Center in Lombard.

Copyright 2014 Your Healthy Life Made Easy LLC