By Leana Greene
It’s that time of year again! School supplies freshly bought, new clothes ready to be put on, another school year of opportunity awaits! With the new school year rapidly approaching, now is a good time to stress the importance of keeping your children well nourished while class is in session. Here are 3 tips to ensure that your children are staying nutritious, even while at school:
1. Stay hydrated!
An often overlooked but crucial part of the day. Kids need to make sure that they have more than enough water on a daily basis, especially if they’re going to be active during hot recess days or participating in sports after school. How can your child be sure they’re hydrated enough? Pediatricians offer a simple measuring test: checking the color of their urine. “Your child should drink enough water that their pee looks like water. If it’s too bright yellow or dark yellow, they’re not getting enough liquid in.”
2. Pack a healthy lunchbox
The more fresh ingredients the better. The greener something is, the better. Go with fresh deli meat instead of packaged, processed cold cuts. Try to avoid all frozen food. Go organic with fruits if you can afford it. I like to make a two-week rotating snack or lunch schedule. This makes buying cheaper and prepping meals faster in case you’re in a time crunch. To reward my kids for eating healthy all week, I like to give them one day of unhealthy food/junk food in their lunchbox. This keeps them on track and motivates them to keep eating healthy!
3. Have your child participate
A fun option when making lunch: have your child participate with you when you make it! I like to take my children to the grocery store or farmers market with me so they can pick out what they want. If you have more than one child, give them each days to be in charge. Cooking together is fun and sometimes a way to make kids eat something that they never would have tried before. Having them involved in the process gets them more excited to eat what’s in there, even if it’s super healthy!
Leana Greene, founder and CEO of KidsInTheHouse.com, the world’s largest parenting video library, is an entrepreneur and mother of three.
http://www.kidsinthehouse.com
Thank you for emphasizing the necessity for “staying hydrated.” Thanks to my mom always giving me water when I was younger, all I do I drink water and I HATE soda! Cooking together is also a cute and great opportunity for bonding. When I have kids, I’ll definitely remember to do all of this. Thank you!
Great advice, its true if the child doesn’t pick out what they want for lunch, how can they enjoy it? And staying hydrated is a great tip too I think it should be necessary before and after recess.
when my kids were in school they would not allow them to bring a water bottle unless they had a note from the doctor saying it was necessary. I think all kids should have water at their desk.
Those are some good suggestions for back-to-school preparations. Getting the child involved in packing his/her own lunch ensures that he/she will eat what’s in the lunchbox!
Great tips for staying healthy on school. I think overall “stay hydrated” it´s an important one because keeps the metabolism working properly and specially it controls the liver.
These are some great tips! I’d also like to add that talking to your child’s teachers could have a positive impact on their overall education.
I would emphasize that drinking water is a lot better for them and focus on that a lot. Hydration is the biggest thing I think kids lose out on.
Great article. These life choices aren’t just physically healthy for your kids, but mentally as well especially number 3.
I would agree that we need to prepare healthy lunches for our kids. What they eat and how much they are hydrated can actually affect their learning ability. I would prefer to give my kids green leafy vegetable for lunch than giving them junk food. With that, I am sure that they are far from illness such as obesity.
These are some great tips. Having a child participate in the making of food and the shopping for it is awesome. Some of my best memories are of cooking with my family growing up. It gets the kids involved with what they’re putting in their body while helping them make great memories at the same time.
Terrific article with some very good tips and advice. If we want our children to stay healthy and do well at school we definitely need to pay close attention to their diet.
Great suggestions for staying healthy when school starts up. Personally, I would try to avoid all cold cuts, they are usually very processed. Great suggestion to have the kids help with the prep work!
I recommended this Article to a friend who has a son who started school recently and it is perfect . Great Pointers.
All kids should be allowed to choose their foods that they like, as long that it does not hurt them. Drinking plenty of fluids and water is very important also to maintain their energy and if they play sports it will be a major factor. Any kind of group activities for children is recommended for a healthy lifestyle.