Start Your Children's Day Off Right So They Can Be Productive At School

Start Your Children's Day Off Right So They Can Be Productive At School

September 28, 20202 min read

Though the 2020 school year may be very different than in past years, it’s still an ideal time to get kids back on track – with their activity, nutrition and overall wellness to support a productive and happy school year.


Breakfast is an important meal for kids and should not be overlooked. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, kids who eat breakfast in the morning are more alert during the school day, and perform better. If you don’t have a lot of time for a sit-down breakfast, try brown bagging it with a banana, a bag of trail mix made with whole-grain cereal, shelled pistachios and a favorite dried fruit such as diced apricot, pineapple or mango.


“When it comes to school lunches, even if lunch break this year means your child is sitting at your kitchen table and not at the school cafeteria, that does not mean you can’t have fun and pack a nutritious lunch,” says Rebecca Shenkman, MPH, RDN, LDN, Director of the MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education at Villanova’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing.


A continued favorite lunch box fad for kids is the Bento Box lunch. “These sleek lunch boxes offer an easy way to provide a visually appealing meal for kids while helping parents compartmentalize and assemble a healthy meal by placing a different food group in each section," says Shenkman, who suggests cut-up grapes, whole wheat crackers with peanut butter, cheese sticks and sliced cherry tomatoes -- anything to get kids to eat healthier and that you can keep in the fridge until they're ready to eat knowing that you provided them nutritional energy for the day.”


To speak with Shenkman, email mediaexperts@villanova.edu.


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