3 Back-to-School Health Tips

Back-to-school can be a difficult time for most kids. Maybe they’re accustomed to being in summer camp throughout the warm summer months, playing with friends, or eating candy until the sugar rush dies outside, but getting back into a routine is certainly no walk in the park. It can be stressful for parents too, as they need to begin waking up their kids for school every morning, ensuring their kids’ lunches are properly packed and prepared for school, while taking care of their own health in the process. All of these tasks might take their toll on any parent, and the start of the school year might turn out creating more stress and anxiety, affecting everyone’s health in the process.

Instead of turning the hamster wheel in your head round and round, it’s important to focus on one thing at a time. Here are a few back-to-school health tips to create a calm, anxiety-free morning for the first few weeks:

1. A Good Sleep

This first tip is just as important for parents as it is for the kids. It’s said that children and teens need around nine hours of sleep each night, while adults need seven to eight. With this fact in mind, it’s good to have dinner early and get your kids to bed around 8-9 pm for a full morning rest. Avoid putting a T.V. in your child’s room, because you have no control over it during the evening hours and television before bed is not a great combo for a good night’s rest. Sleep is key for a good week back-to-school.

2. A Hot Bath 

Believe it or not, Dr. Sarah Armstrong of Duke’s Healthy Lifestyles Clinic recommends that “taking a hot bath cools the body down and triggers the central nervous system to induce sleep.” So, this might be the tip that you need to ensure that your child gets a good sleep, and maybe you can even try the technique out as a parent. We all need time to relax, and what better way to de-stress.

3. Pack Healthy Lunches Ahead of Time 

By packing healthy lunches ahead of time, you avoid running around in the morning and getting everything organized last minute. There are many different ways to make lunches healthy and exciting for your kids by incorporating different cultures, colours, shapes, and packing everything in an exciting lunchbox! You can even make your own fruit roll-ups that mimic the unhealthy snacks in the aisles you can’t walk down without hearing a plea from your child.

These are a few health tips that will make your child’s first few weeks back-to-school healthier and stress-free. It’s important that you are always caring for yourself in the process and treating yourself to your own relaxing bath or healthy lunch too! If you have any questions about the healthcare we offer, contact Closing the Gap Healthcare today for your health needs and concerns.