Energize and Help Kids in School

Promote Exercise, Healthy Eating and Pack Great Lunches

Aug 26, 2009 Arlene Lengyel

Lunchtime at school is not just about eating. It is a rejuvenation, reflection and social time, and can be a comforting connection to home.

It’s back to school time and kids, as well as parents, hope for an enjoyable, successful school year. Support your students by helping them feel well so they can concentrate on academics, sports, friends and the completely new-year school environment.

Help Kids to Stay Active and Eat Healthy Food

Bolster your students by helping them stay healthy, or get that way, which means your children should be in good physical shape – not overweight or obese. Check their status by using the body mass index calculator. Exercise is extremely important for not only losing weight, but for optimum health and a tip-top self-image.

Sustain your student at home and at school with plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans), low-fat dairy products, whole grains, seafood, nuts and seeds. Monitor your students’ consumption of unhealthy food that has too much sugar, salt and saturated fat – that includes burgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes, cookies, donuts and sodas.

Pack Dynamite School Lunches

Whether your schoolchildren prefer a lunch sack or brown bag, include moist towelettes for before and after hand washing. An insulated container can keep food hot or cold.

Examples of healthy, packed school lunches are:

Tuna sandwich with 100 percent whole wheat bread, apple, low-fat milk (include a cold pack)
Veggie whole wheat wrap, low-fat pudding, bottled water
Peanut butter and banana sandwich, baby carrots with low-fat dip, and fruit juice box

The author of A Mother’s Guide to Raising Healthy Children, Sue Frederick, has 10 tips for planning and packing student lunches.

Provide a Reassuring Connection to Home

Include in the packed lunch comforting and upbeat connections to home – small notes with sentiments like:

Enjoy – love you!
Remember, there’s a birthday party tonight for Dad.
Blackie, the cat, and Duke, the dog, miss you.

Drawings, notes, or stickers create another fun bond to include:

Draw personalized, funny cartoons.
Use ready-made, cheerful notes. KidPrintables.com has free lunchbox notes that you can print out on regular paper.
Find free stickers that are printable on label paper, such as Avery, also at KidPrintables.com.

Influence Students with Outstanding Packed Lunches

Going to school is a big part of kids’ lives. Help your children by ensuring they stay well, maintain a good weight, exercise, and eat the best, energy-giving food. Packing a nourishing school lunch for students gives parents a chance to encourage wholesome food, and show their support via fond, positive notes and good-mood-producing drawings.

Reference

Nisssenberg, Sandra K. and Pearl, Barbara N. Brown Bag Success: Making Healthy Lunches Your Kids Won’t Trade. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.

The copyright of the article Energize and Help Kids in School in Nutrition is owned by Arlene Lengyel. Permission to republish Energize and Help Kids in School in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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