8 Best Tips to Help Your Child Thrive in the New School Year

The new school year is finally here!

A new school year means helping your child adjust to new classrooms, new teachers and new challenges. Getting through this transition can be difficult, but there are practical strategies for helping your child adjust to the newness of the new year.

Many parents don’t realize that success, or failure, at school starts at home. Studies have linked poor academic performance to factors such as obesity, poor nutrition and sleep patterns, and a lack of parental support.

The good news is that those same studies show improved performance for students who live in homes where predictable routines, healthy habits, and good communication exist.

The time to plan for a successful school year is NOW. While laying out a calendar can be beneficial for everyone in the family, it can be especially helpful if you had a child who struggled in school last year.

So how can you ensure your child heads off to school with the best possible foundation? Following these 8 tips can help your child start off fresh this fall:

8 Back to School Tips to Help Your Child Thrive

 1. Healthy Snacks

If you have kids who naturally gravitate toward chips, cookies and candy bars for their after-school snack, it’s time to reclaim their taste buds. Even the pickiest eaters are more willing to try new foods when they’re disguised as something fun. Here are a few simple recipes for healthy snacks on-the-go and this fun penguin snack.

 2. Boost Their PFC

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is responsible for helping your child be goal-oriented, socially responsible, and productive in every area of their life. Decreased activity in the PFC has been associated with lack of forethought and poor judgment. Exercising self-control is one of the best ways to strengthen their PFC. Supplements, green tea, relaxation techniques and enjoyable activities can increase blood flow to the PFC, which can assist your child in making better decisions.

 3. Get Them Moving

Exercise is one of the most critical ways of supporting healthy development. Make time for everyone in the family to get moving together. Physical activity can boost blood flow and other positive nutrients to the brain, increase your levels of dopamine and generate new brain cells. Walking can help clear your mind, improve your mood and burn some calories all at the same time.

 4. Productive Study Space

It’s time to determine where your kids can study – and where they can’t. Work with your child to create a space where he or she can keep school materials organized. Any quiet area with good lighting and a writing surface can make a study space so long as it’s out of the earshot of a TV and other distractions. Pro tip: use a visual timer to set aside time in the study space to help them stay focused;

 5. Eat the Rainbow

This doesn’t mean Skittles or jelly beans. It means teaching your children to choose healthy foods in a variety of colors, such as blueberries, spinach, pomegranates, squash, and bell peppers, at every meal. Help your kids understand the nutritional value of including healthy fruits and vegetables into their regular diet. Challenge your kids to eat a meal that consists of every color of the rainbow. Make it a game!

 6. Technology Free Bedroom

One of the best ways to avoid the dangers of digital dependence is to remove TVs, computers and other electronic devices from your child’s bedroom. Creating a relaxing environment, free from the distractions of the outside world, may facilitate better sleep and reduce the amount of harmful electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) their body absorbs.

 7. Quality Sleep

Getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night has been shown to help your child’s brain function at optimal levels. When your child doesn’t get enough sleep, they have overall decreased blood flow to their brain, which can disrupt thinking, memory, and concentration.

 8. Streamline Your Mornings

Consider what would make before-school hours simpler for everyone in your family. Pick out clothes and make lunches the night before. Organize and gather everything together that your kids will need to walk out the door in the morning before going to bed.

At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest purity nutrients to give you the focus and energy your child needs to succeed in school and in life. For our full list of supplements, visit us at BrainMD.

Keith Rowe
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