Healthy Tips to get your kids ready for back-to-school!

Back to School is literally right around the corner, in fact many Arizona school districts have already started!! It’s on many parents minds what they may need to be doing to get their children prepared for heading back to school! Here are my top ten healthy tips for getting kids ready for Back-to-School!

1. Vitamins! I am a believe in vitamins and that they can make a huge differences in helping your child stay well and avoid sickness that get passed around. A daily vitamin that the kids find fun to eat is a great way to keep them healthy!

2. Well Checks! Before school it’s a great idea to get in with your doctor to do their annual well child check-up! It makes for a great reminder that it has been a year since the last check up and also helps you keep tabs on any concerns and start the school year off right!

3. Good Night Sleep! While summer is full of fun and typically a varied schedule, as back to school rolls around it is really important to get back on at least a semi-schedule with plans for a full night’s sleep!

4. WATER!! Another thing I really stress with my children is drinking water as it is just so good for them! A refillable water bottle would be perfect to send along with them so they can remember to stay hydrated and also save on the expense of disposable water bottles.

5. Healthy Lunches! Healthy and well balanced lunches are very important during the school day to keep your child alert and focused instead of hitting highs and lows from a poor diet.

6. Vision, Hearing & Dental Checks! Starting off the school year right with all your health in order is very important and so it is a great time to check on any vision, dental and/or hearing problems you may have a concern with for your child! Vision and hearing problems can really affect a child’s school performance and in turn their self confidence!

7. High Quality Shoes! Healthy feet are important too and new shoes should be comfortable as well as supportive and able to form to their unique soles. Keep in mind any special sports shoes needs as well.

8. Exercise! Keep exercise a part of summer and through the school year as well! Exercise does not have to be boring but just play some hoops with your boys or maybe tag with your younger kids and get them active and moving!

9. Planner, Folders, and a System – For an emotional healthy home keeping a system and a plan for when due dates are approaching and what tasks are coming up will keep everyone on the same page and help to avoid last minute stress over a late or forgotten project!

10. Talk about “sharing” – While our children are young we push “Share, share, share” but when they are ready for back to school I think it is important to let them know while you certainly can share, be careful about some things that really shouldn’t be shared. Things like hairbrushes, clothing, chapstick, etc should really be kept from sharing.

What are your best tips for healthy start to the school year?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Transitions Lenses blogging program, for a gift card worth $50.