Our Top Tips for a Healthy and Smooth Back-to-School Transition

The season of transition is upon us once again! Back to school season brings with it the inevitable stressors and challenges that accompany change. By implementing a few key strategies (don’t worry–they’re easy!), you can reduce the impact of these challenges on your family and set your kids up for their healthiest year yet. 

As you prepare to send your kiddos back to school, keep these tips in mind to ensure the smoothest, healthiest transition possible.

1. Establish a solid sleep routine.

Rest is crucial for helping kids function at their best during the day. After a summer of looser schedules, long days, and later bedtimes, now is the time to return to a regular nighttime routine. Being well rested will work wonders in helping your kids cope with the changes in their daytime routine. Children ages 3-5 need 10-13 hours of sleep per day, while 6-12 year olds need 9-12 hours. Teenagers should shoot for 8-10 hours.

2. Keep blood sugar balanced.

Spikes in blood sugar can negatively impact childrens’ mood, behavior, energy, and sleep cycles. To help your kids avoid blood sugar swings (and dreaded sugar crashes), prepare meals and snacks that are well balanced. Every meal should include a source of protein, and every snack should include a source of either protein or fat. For example, instead of giving your child just a banana for a snack–which is all sugar and can lead to a blood sugar crash–serve the banana with a few tablespoons of peanut butter (healthy fat) to help the body absorb the sugar slowly. Most kids need to eat every 3-4 hours to maintain balanced blood sugar levels.

3. Avoid food colorings and additives.

Artificial food colorings and chemical additives, often found in processed foods, are linked to cognitive development issues and attention problems in children. Choose foods that are free of these toxic ingredients and reach for whole, natural foods instead! That doesn’t mean your kids can never have candy or treats. Just look for healthier options that are colored naturally without chemical dyes, or–even better–make your treats from scratch.

4. Get your child adjusted!

Pediatric chiropractic care offers many benefits for kids' health, including supporting their growth and development, immune health, sleep patterns, and behavior. The nervous system is highly affected by stress, and because chiropractic directly supports the nervous system through maintaining proper spinal alignment, adjustments can positively impact a child’s innate ability to cope well with change. Adjusted kids are healthy kids! 

We wish you a fabulous start to the school year and hope this is your family’s healthiest year yet!