The Guide to Owning Back to School

September 13, 2016

Easy there parents, eaaaaaaaaaasy!

It’s the time of year that every parent has been waiting for…the beginning of a new school year when the kiddos are back in classroom and out of your living room.

Owning Back to School (like a boss)

Here are 7 juicy tips to get you and your family on track as you adapt back into the school year:

1.  Feed your child a nutritious and fueling breakfast. It is proven that children who eat breakfast have an easier time concentrating and are more productive than those who do not eat breakfast.  Do your best to avoid excessively sugary cereals and foods that will cause your child to crash into zombie mode.  Begin the day with some nutritious foods such as eggs on top of veggies with a delicious smoothie to start the day off right.  Here are my favorite breakfast recipes.
2. Plan healthy lunches and snacks. Send your child back to school with the nutrients they need to learn and concentrate. If your child is available to plan their lunches with you and get excited, you may be able to avoid sending junk food and sweets to school with them on their next school day. Teach your child how to make healthy choices if eating the schools lunch.  Click for these AMAZING snack recipes!
3. Make time for dinner as a family.  Don’t laugh.  This is NOT a 1950s concept and I actually grew up in a house where we had dinner as a family 5 nights a week.  Enjoy a well-rounded meal together and enjoy the opportunity to share the day’s experiences with one another. Research shows that families who eat together have a stronger bond, and their children perform better in school with a higher self-confidence level.
4. Create an appealing homework spot and routine.  Phones away and TV off.  Multi-tasking is not a benefit in this case.  Be sure that your child has a well-lit, quiet and pleasant location to do their homework.   Fix up the area with things like a cup of pencils, a good lamp, and a pencil sharpener. Decide with your child when homework will be completed each day.
5. Practice good sleep habits with your child.  The summer can often throw our children’s sleep schedule off by allowing them to stay up late and sleeping well into the morning. That’s all fine during the summer, but not so great once school begins. To avoid brutal awakenings, slowly adapt your child back to a regular bedtime and wake up routine. Remember that screens of all types (TV, cell phones, computers, tablets…) emit a specific type of light that stimulates the brain and makes sleeping more difficult. Be sure that your children’s screens and games are turned off a good hour before bedtime. Begin to create habits that will make for healthy sleep all year round.
6. Plan both downtime and activities. It is important that your child be active. Sit with your child and plan out some after school activities while making sure there is enough time for homework and sleep.  Downtime is also important for your child’s mental health. Both time to relax and play are important for your child no matter what their age.  It’s time that you need too!
7.  Prevent neck/back pains, headaches, and avoidable negative postural changes with Miami Sports Chiropractic & Yoga Center in Aventura.    Start the year off right by providing your child the opportunity to keep their bodies healthy and well through postural correction. As your child hunches over those desks, games, and cell phones, their posture and spine is taking the blunt force of it all.  Let us help you!