This week I’ll go over a bunch of general tips to help you keep your kids healthy throughout the school year.

First off is getting sleep schedules back on track. Summer means long days and often staying up late. Now is the time to start getting bedtime back to a normal time to make sure they are getting enough rest and up on time. When we sleep our body is still hard at work rebuilding and healing. It is also when our brain processes all the information from the day and will improve memory and attention.

Lat week I covered healthy snacks and it’s also important to make sure they are on quality supplements. A multivitamin to fill in the gaps in their nutrition, probiotics to boost their immune system and fish oil for brain boosting power. Healthy nutrition should be a year round thing but if they’ve been doing too many s’mores now’s the time to get it back on track. They will be back around all the other kids and new germs so starting a program to boost their immune system now will help them when cold and flu season starts.

School time means lots of sitting and desk time. Sitting is to the spine what sugar is to the teeth so it’s important to make sure they are sitting with good posture. No slouching in the chairs, no matter how cool they think it makes them look. I know we can’t be there to watch them but educating them now on how to sit properly and enforcing it at home will help build healthy habits that will carry them throughout their lives. Really, one day they will realize we actually know what we’re talking about and were trying to help them.

Since we can’t control the amount of time they are sitting at school its is important to make sure they are getting plenty of exercise and movement once the school day is over. Organized sports will be starting up and if your child is into them they are a great way to get active and build teamwork skills. If they aren’t a sporty kid, no worries, there is great benefit in unstructured outdoor time. Free play outside fosters creativity and healthy movement.

Last, but certainly not least, make sure they are getting adjusted! Getting a Chiropractic checkup and adjustment will help offset the damage they are doing to their spine sitting and carrying a heavy backpack. It will also help boost their immune system and get their body functioning at it’s peak. It is all about making the nervous system work properly so all the systems of the body work as designed.

Here’s to another great year of learning and fun!