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Keep scrolling to find out the back to school healthy habits! Thank you to Swanson Health for partnering with me on this post!
Back to school season is truly the wild west, y’all! The month of August (that first of all is just brutally hot here in Alabama) and ALLLLLL the back to school things that come hurtling towards you faster than you can keep up with are suffocating at least and overwhelming at best. Just the school emails alone plus the meet the teacher events, orientations, sports starting back, and school supplies lists are a part time job in and of themselves!
Amidst all the craziness with back to school, we try to make our health a priority — both for the kids and myself. August can easily feel like a “second new year” where you get a second chance to recommit to those goals from the beginning of 2022! The new school year is a great time to instill healthy habits with your little ones that will set you up for success through the end of the year.
I’m thankful to find brands like Swanson Health Vitamins to help support me in my journey toward better health as a family. Not only do they have great vitamins for the kiddos, they have a wide array of supplements, personal care products, and even home items for grown-ups too!
My 5 Best Back To School Healthy Habits For Kids:
#1 // Find a vitamin & supplement routine with your kiddos! // It’s so important for me to teach my boys to take care of their bodies, and the best way to do that is to show them how I take care of MY body! Every day, I take a variety of supplements to make sure my body is getting all the nutrients it needs, and I take those supplements in front of my kids. I love that the supplements from Swanson Health come as gummies, so my kids are more likely to eat them (I’m looking at you Finn Brown…the one who sneaks gummy worms from the treat box any chance he gets!) This also teaches Leyton and Finn about accountability! They remind me if we’ve forgotten to take our vitamins before heading out the door, which makes me chuckle while also being simultaneously proud!
#2 // Make sure they always have a water bottle on hand to stay hydrated! // If there is one word to describe Leyton and Finn Brown, it’s HYDRATED! Y’all know my daily goal is to drink 100oz of water a day, and my kids are no exception to that goal! To stay well hydrated, kids of age 1 to 3 are recommended to drink 4 cups of water a day, and 5 cups for kids ages 4-8. Drinking water helps kids maintain a healthy weight, helps their blood circulate, and helps keep bones and teeth healthy! To help us reach this goal, my kids never leave the house without a water bottle. They know that wherever they are, they can refill their water bottles, and I love that independence that they’re learning! Swanson Health has the perfect 2.2 Liter Water Bottle, which is equivalent to 74oz of water! Drink two of these a day and you’ve already reached your daily water intake goal! Grab my FREE WATER TRACKER PRINTABLE to keep track of your daily water intake!
#3 // Encourage your kids to be outside and active after school! // In addition to having a daily water intake goal, I have a daily goal to hit 10,000 steps a day. One of my favorite ways I work towards this goal is taking family walks! If the weather’s nice when Eric gets off work, we head to our neighborhood trail with the boys and take time to walk and talk about our days. While Eric and I catch up, the boys look for any creatures they find along the path… I’m talking lizards and frogs. If you’re a boy mom like me this probably doesn’t phase you – ha! Getting in those extra steps a day helps improve your cardiovascular fitness, (which makes my husband, who is a cardiovascular nurse practitioner, very happy!) strengthens your bones and muscles, and improves muscle endurance.
#4 // Promote reading with your littles as opposed to more screen time! // We try to limit our kids screen time to a few minutes a day, as seeing my kids using their imagination, playing with friends, and reading/coloring are so important to me. Just like taking your daily supplements in front of your kiddos, it’s important to read with them to show them how fun and important it is. Each night before bed, we read a book with the boys together. This helps them calm down and get ready to go to bed. I also have Leyton take a daily quiet time for about an hour, during which he can read a book, work on coloring, work on his math skills and more. Incorporating these practices into my family’s routine is so important to me, and it’s very doable, especially if your kids see you joining in on the fun with them!
#5 // Incorporate fruits and vegetables on your little’s plate! // Before you skim over this section, I want to tell you that I know what you’re probably thinking…“Heather, there is NO way my kids will even look at fruits and veggies much less eat them. Not gonna happen.” While I completely understand where you’re coming from as I have a picky eater mom myself, it is possible to incorporate fruits and veggies into your child’s diets. We have the “No Thank You Bite” rule in our house: When trying a new food, my kids are required to take the “No Thank You Bite” to see if they like the food or not. If they do, great! If they don’t, at least they tried it. This teaches my kids to be open to new experiences, even if they’re nervous. Once you find those fruits and veggies that your kids like, always keep them on hand and visible to your kids. I’ve learned that kids are a LOT more likely to ask for and eat the foods that they can see visually on the counter, in the pantry, and in the fridge. We keep oranges, bananas and apples right on our countertop and Leyton and Finn both ask for them almost daily. If you’ve got a picky eater on your hands too, I’ve got you covered. I’ve compiled all of my best tips, tricks and advice in the Healthy Meal Planning: Kid’s Edition, A Busy Mom’s Guide for the Picky Eater eBook that is designed to help your family navigate feeding your kids healthy foods that they’ll truly enjoy.
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