Start School Days Right with 3 Must-Do Moves

Photo Credit: O5com on Flickr.com

School’s starting which means it’s time to recharge our children’s bodies and minds. Summers are low-key and lazy, and that’s great. Even in my own healthy home, we sleep late and avoid structure at all costs. However! In an effort to ensure our kids have the ability and energy to do their best in the classroom, we must renew our focus. In order for them to be at their best they must have the following things.

• Rest! Kids need lots of sleep! You and I both know what it’s like to try to get through a busy day with too little sleep – it’s exhausting and miserable. Don’t let that happen to your children. Enforce a reasonable bed time. Even if they don’t fall asleep instantly, resting quietly in their beds is better than running around or zoning out in front of the TV.

• Children 3-6 years old need 10-12 hours per day
• children 7-12 years old need 10-11 hours per day
• children 13-18 years old need 8-9 hours per day

• Smart Breakfasts! It’s undeniable that fueling their little bodies and brains is an ummm, errr … NO BRAINER! Pulled from Allison Aubrey’s article: “Dozens of studies from as far back as the 1950s have consistently shown that children who eat breakfast perform better academically than those who don’t. In a recent study of 4,000 elementary school students, researchers measured the effects of eating breakfast by administering a battery of attention tests. To measure short-term memory, researchers read a series of digits out loud — 5, 4, 2 and so on — and asked the children to repeat them. The children were scored on how many digits they could remember correctly. To test verbal fluency, the kids were asked to name all the animals they could think of in 60 seconds. Across the board, Murphy says, the breakfast eaters performed better than those children who had skipped breakfast.“

For most of us, it’s hard to fathom sending a child off to school without breakfast, but indeed many children have none. And many children are simply being served the wrong types of food. A simple rule of thumb is to make sure your children (and you) start each day with a combination of lean protein and quality carbohydrates. If you’d be embarrassed to have me over to your house and let me see what you’re serving your children, you’ll want to switch gears. Let’s serve meals we can be proud of Moms and Dads! Check out these lean protein and quality carb options and then play mix and match.

Throw any combination of these fine ingredients together in a bowl, on a plate or in a glass. You don’t have to stick with the old standards of greasy bacon and sugary cereals, and you should confess to your child when you make the change. A simple explanation of “Daddy didn’t quite understand how to make a superb breakfast for you before, but now that I know – I must do what’s best for you. Maybe you can help me find things you enjoy to create this healthy combination and give you a great start to your day!” If you’re rushing out the door late for school, make sure you grab a quickie combo like a yogurt parfait or a Kind Bar with a glass of Tropicana Pure Premium to go!

• Movement! It’s unfair to wake their cute little energetic bodies up, rush em’ to get ready and then pin them down in a chair to be quiet for six to eight hours! In fact, it sounds darn right MEAN! Of course they have to go to school, but we can enhance their experience by simply allowing them to get their wiggles out in the morning. Host a daily morning dance party in your living room, jog around the block, ride bikes to school or make sure they have access to a before-school fitness program like the Morning Mile. To be specific, teachers report that students (of all ages) who participate in the Morning Mile each day show up to class more ready to sit still, focus and learn. They behave better throughout the day and improve better as well.

Healthy bodies support healthy minds. Your job is to make choices to guarantee your children have the best of both. Sleep, proper nutrition and physical activity will go along way to guarantee your children feel great and do their best each day of the school year.

***This feature has been sponsored by Tropicana Pure Premium and Trop50. I choose to work as an ambassador to Tropicana because TPP is made with nothing that didn’t come from the inside of an orange peel.  It’s pure, natural (Florida) goodness and quite simply … tastes better than other orange juices. Connect with the folks at Tropicana: Facebook.com/Tropicana.

Nutrition

At about 50 cents per 8-ounce glass, Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice has no added sugar and provides:

• Two fruit servings*
• A day’s supply of vitamin C to help support a healthy immune system
• As much potassium as a medium banana, which plays an important role in heart health
• A natural source of the B-vitamin folate, which helps with cell development (especially important for pregnant women).
• A good source of thiamin, which is essential in energy metabolism, and plays an important role in nerve and muscle function

*USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend a majority of your fruit servings come from whole fruit.