Smiling Mom

School is back in ses­sion and many of our kids are ending yet another sum­mer of fun and relaxation.

In my ten years of teaching, I’ve encoun­te­red many chil­dren who could have bene­fi­ted from some basic hou­sehold rou­ti­nes.  As a result I’ve com­pi­led a list of healthy habits & rou­ti­nes that help make the tran­si­tion from sum­mer to school much smoother.

1.  Bed­time, bed­time, bed­time.
Your child’s body, age 12 and under, on ave­rage requi­res 10–11 hours of sleep per night.  Every night.  If you have a tee­na­ger, they gene­rally require 8 1/2 hours to 9 1/2 hours of nightly sleep.

Why is this infor­ma­tion impor­tant?  It’s sim­ple.   Kids per­form bet­ter, are able to focus more, and have bet­ter days when they are fully rested.

…sleep depri­va­tion adds up over time, so an hour less per night is like a full night without sleep by the end of the week. Among other things, sleep depri­va­tion can lead to:

• dec­rea­sed attentiveness
• dec­rea­sed short-term memory
• incon­sis­tent performance
• dela­yed res­ponse time

2.  Eat a healthy break­fast each morning.

Make sure that your child’s break­fast con­sists of high-fiber and nutrient-rich whole grains, fruits, and dairy pro­ducts.    Limit the amount of highly refi­ned sugars and car­bohy­dra­tes your child eats each mor­ning.  More sugar in the mor­ning equals a less focu­sed student.

Evi­dence from the report sug­gests that eating break­fast may improve cog­ni­tive func­tion rela­ted to memory, test gra­des, and school attendance.

Eating break­fast, a healthy break­fast, is impor­tant.  VERY important!

3.  Pack a healthy snack.

Around 5 1/2 hours pas­ses bet­ween the time a child eats break­fast to time lunch is ser­ved.  That’s a long time to ask one of our stu­dents to be without food, calm and on task.

Remem­ber to pack a healthy snack each and every day.

Not coo­kies or sugary, pre­pac­ka­ged foods. But healthy foods such as fruit, vege­ta­bles, cheese, or dried fruits & nuts.

4. Rou­tine, rou­tine, routine!!

Create a rou­tine your child can count on for the after-school hours.  Have a spe­cial spot for home­work com­ple­tion and make clear how much rest time your child has prior to begin­ning home­work.  Have a set din­ner­time and bedtime.

Having a family rou­tine can create a sense of secu­rity.  When a child feels safe and secure at home, he/she always per­forms bet­ter at school.

Good luck and have a won­der­ful school year!!

Ori­gi­nal Sili­con Valley Moms Blog post.