Pencil Pointers: Maintaining Child and Parent Health During the School Year

As the sun sets on another summer, it’s time to gear up for the school year! With more time in classrooms and the days getting shorter, it can be difficult to keep up those fun-in-the-sun summer habits. Before you start packing lunch boxes and signing permission slips, consider these tips on keeping your young ones (and yourself) healthy and happy all year round.

1. Building Your Defenses

Sharing is caring, right? Unfortunately, that golden rule doesn’t just apply to erasers and snacks, but also those bugs and viruses that seem to sweep through a classroom in minutes. To best build your child’s natural defenses, a few lifestyle habits can go a long way.

• Seek Sunshine: Spending some time outdoors is a great natural source of Vitamin D. As in-class time and Canadian winters make access to sunlight difficult, probiotics such as Dr. Formulated Organic Kids+ can prevent this vitamin deficiency, with a variety of fruity flavours to appease even the pickiest of eaters. 
• Avoid Sugar: Refined sugar can hinder the immune system for up to 8 hours and while cutting all refined sugar from your kids’ diets may be unrealistic, try replacing sugary breakfasts with options packed with proteins, fats, and fibers. This will ensure your child’s body is operating at full capacity when mixing and mingling with other kids (and their germs)!
• Build Healthy Hygiene Habits: Your kids can protect themselves at school by building healthy hygiene habits at home, such as washing their hands before eating, after the bathroom, and when they get home from school. For younger kids, this includes keeping toys and school supplies, especially those that are shared, out of their mouth. These habits also allow kids to take an active role in maintaining their health and feel increased responsibility and autonomy over their body.

2. Exercise

After a long day of sitting at a desk or cross-legged on a carpet, it is crucial that kids get their legs moving and get some fresh air. Use the opportunity to get outside as a family, or explore what parks, pools, or community centres your neighbourhood has to offer! Recreational team sports leagues bring the additional benefits of building teamwork and social skills.

If registering for a league is too daunting, or if you’re looking to fill the days between scheduled activities, after-dinner walks are a great way to encourage digestion and stabilize blood sugar. Family walks also allow for discussion and reflection on the day and tire kids out for bedtime. Win-win!

3. Power Up

When it comes to developing filling and nutritious meals for your family, the magic words are “stable energy.” Breakfasts should be protein-forward, to prevent an early morning buzz and crash before recess. All that freeze tag and four-square requires energy!

Once kids are home, offer fiber-based and whole foods to balance blood sugar before dinner, such as vegetables or fruits with nut butter. 

• To upgrade your after-school snacks game, consider some Snack Recipes straight from the Garden! 

At dinnertime in a busy household carb-based meals such as pasta and rice are inevitable, but make sure you incorporate some veggies on the side to provide necessary nutrients for growing (and fully grown!) bodies. 

• If you have a kid that simply refuses to eat anything green, consider experimenting with new cooking styles, such as grilled, steamed or barbequed vegetables. This provides a change of texture that may have been the root of your child’s distaste. 

Another way to encourage healthy eating is for parents to eat dinner with their kids, and eat the same things. Kids are natural imitators, so if your child never sees you picking up a carrot stick, it’s unlikely they’ll try it for themselves. Beyond showcasing good food habits, eating together also allows for conversation and further engagement in your kids’ lives.

• Try questions such as “What was the best part of today?” or “What is your favourite thing to do at recess?” if the classic “How was your day?” keeps receiving a one-word answer.

4. Goal Setting

To prevent losing your back-to-school momentum by October, it is crucial to build routines that are realistic for your family and remain consistent. This could include setting specific times for sleep, meals, and exercise, packing lunch boxes the night before, or meal planning for the week on Sunday.

Ideally start these routines in August, so the habit can build before being tested by the school year. This prevents a rough start as sleep schedules struggle to reorient from those late summer nights.

Additionally, try to hold on to one thing that brought you and your family joy during the summer. Continuing a weekly family movie night tradition, after-school activity, or favourite snack can make the transition feel less abrupt and bring a much-needed sense of sunshine into the colder months.

Conclusion

Navigating the transition from summer to the school year can be both a challenge and an opportunity for growth, not just for children, but for parents as well. By prioritizing health through immunity, regular physical activity, and nutritious eating habits, you enable your child to take full advantage of these growth opportunities. As you prepare to enter the school year, make sure your kids have all the resources they need to keep both their minds and their pencils sharp!