Back to School Health and Nutrition

by Rebecca Thompson, M.S.

It is in the air: the start of a new school year is rapidly approaching. Take a deep breath now. Back to school time can be a time of excitement about the upcoming changes for many students and parents; however, for those of us with children who have trauma histories, it can also be overwhelming to contemplate another series of changes as our children make yet another transition. But as we prepare for this new school year, I would encourage you to take a few minutes and really think about what your child is going to be eating this school year. A diet based on whole foods, rather than the packaged, processed, synthesized foods we have become dependent on, can be an effective long-term strategy to creating wellness and health for your children (and for you, too)! The food we eat affects our ability to concentrate (and regulate), the way we feel, and our overall health. Many studies have linked eating real, whole foods to better ability to concentrate, increased achievement in school and fewer behavior problems. While it isn’t magic, it can help give our children that extra boost they need to make it through their day.

Starting off right- Breakfast

Let’s start with the part before they have left for school- the so-called “most important meal of the day”- breakfast. Some kids (and some grown-ups) have a difficult time eating early in the morning. Morning is usually a time of high stress, so it makes sense that some children may not be too excited about eating, either because they are hyper-aroused or hypo-aroused. Calming the stress, rather than adding to it, makes a huge difference for our children. The trick is to remember this in the morning while trying to get everyone dressed, fed and at work or school on time! Does the thought of this put you in a dysregulated state? The best thing you can do is to plan, plan, plan! Let your child help you plan out- way before the first bell rings- what foods will be served for breakfast, as you work together to guide them toward healthy choices.

Breakfast hints:

-Encourage your child to listen to what her body is saying she needs to start the day. Guide your child toward healthy choices if her body is saying she needs something unhealthy. Offer a different sweet food, like an apple, if she is saying she needs sugar to start the day. Her body may just be saying it is already stressed out, so encourage your child to listen to that and work to calm that stress together.

- Cooperatively create a schedule of healthy breakfast foods that work for her. Plan this out ahead of time for the week to avoid last minute confusion and conflict. Some families use a weekly menu where Monday is always yogurt, Tuesday oatmeal, Wednesday eggs, Thursday pancakes, Friday smoothies, for example. There is still room for variety (i.e. eggs can be scrambled eggs, pop-eyes- bread with egg fried in the center, fried eggs with toast, breakfast burrito, etc.).

-Plan plenty of time for breakfast to avoid being rushed and avoid eating breakfast in the car on the way to school. We all do better when we only have to integrate one task at a time.

-Do keep on hand breakfast items that take little time for those days when, despite the best of intentions, you need to eat in the car on the way to school. Sometimes it is much more important to focus on the relationship at home so that they are ready for the day away from you. Check out Larabars (www.larabar.com) may be something to consider. Found at most health food stores, they are all raw with dried fruits and nuts- surprisingly filling, but sweetened only with dates and come in flavors like Cinnamon Roll, Apple Pie, and Cherry Pie, just to name a few.

-Cook breakfast the night before or over the weekend. Homemade versions of the quick items found in the freezer sections of grocery stores are often much healthier. Whole-grain pancakes, breakfast burritos, even quiche can be made ahead (sans additives, preservatives and fillers) and pulled out in the morning to warm while everyone gets ready. This gives you more time to attend to your child in the morning when she needs you most, while not compromising food quality.

-Avoid boxed breakfast cereal when possible. All boxed breakfast cereals are highly processed and most are high in sugar, so keep those to a minimum if possible. Keep in mind that as your child makes a transition back to school, she may resist changes in her diet (and any other change for that matter), so be sensitive to her ability to handle stress at this time. If she needs her favorite sugary cereal right now, keep in mind that she’s really just communicating her stress around the changes that are occurring externally and respond to that.

Snacks at school

Some classrooms incorporate snack time into the day, understanding that many children, especially younger children, do better when eating small, frequent meals. For many reasons, our children often do better when they are not going long stretches without eating. Many of our children do not even recognize that their body is telling them that they are hungry but their behavior starts to go downhill, which is a late indicator that something isn’t right. Dr. Karen Purvis, in her recent audio interview with Dr. Post, talked about “camp,” which is a therapeutic experience for adopted and foster children. One of the components of “camp” is that the children eat or are offered a snack every 2 hours to keep their blood sugar regulated. This is something that can be incorporated into your child’s day, as well, especially if there are long stretches of time without food. If your child is in elementary school, talking to your child’s teacher about the possibility of a time and place for a snack would be the best place to start. Explain that this could help to eliminate some behavior issues by taking a few minutes during a “quiet” time of the day for a short snack, which you will provide for your child. Some teachers may embrace the value of this for all students and add a snack time. This is no different than the needs of a child with hypoglycemia who needs to eat regularly. If your child already has an IEP, or Individual Education Plan, this can be added if necessary to make sure that every opportunity is taken for an optimal education experience. Whether or not snacks have been a part of the plan in the past, perhaps asking for your teacher’s cooperation and input about what the teacher notices with your child before and after the snack, as this helps to establish a positive relationship with your child’s teacher. As with your child, the relationship with your child’s teacher is key to a successful school year.

For the middle or high school aged child, perhaps suggest the idea and discuss how to incorporate a snack time into the school day. Maybe a friend could remind her to eat a snack during one of the passing periods. Talking about it when you and your child are calm and regulated and explaining how this could be helpful will encourage buy-in from your child, no matter how old they are.

Lunch Choices

Remember school lunch? School pizza? Its funny how many things change and yet how many things stay the same. While some schools are working very hard to increase the quality of the foods served in the cafeteria and the government is changing the requirements of foods served, ultimately children still have many choices when it comes to school lunch. Some schools, due to monetary pressures, have fast food restaurants serving food. Many schools have vending machines with “juice” available for students to purchase during lunch. However, if you read the label of the “juice,” you may be surprised to learn that it probably has more sugar than their favorite soft drink (and about as much juice, too!) Most schools now have salad bars available, though it is ultimately up to the student to purchase and eat it.

A dysregulated child + money (can) = poor choices. In the movie Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock goes to a school cafeteria to see what the children are actually eating. Even when the parents give the children money specifically to purchase the school lunch, he finds that some of the children only buy French fries or candy for the noontime meal! He also finds healthy foods being traded for unhealthy foods from packed-at-home lunches. This is where relationship is critical, as are keeping the pathways of communication open about what your child is actually eating at lunch away from you. Talk to your child about the choices available at her school. Explain the idea of “a child who feels well is more likely to act well,” according to pediatrician Dr. William Sears, especially as it applies to foods eaten during the school day. This is something you, as the parent, can empower your child through loving influence to make a good decision for herself.

“Brown bagging it”

Packing a lunch can be another option because you can work together to choose foods that are healthy for your child to eat at lunch. You are more likely to get buy-in at lunchtime if she has a part in choosing what goes into the lunch box. Turn the package over and show your child the ingredient labels of foods she wants to eat and talk about what the words mean. If you can’t pronounce it, maybe another food would be a better choice! Work to get fruits and vegetables into that lunch box, but talk to your child about what it would take for her to actually eat it. Some kids love to dip vegetables into a salad dressing, but won’t eat them plain. The reality is that foods are sometimes thrown away instead of being eaten at school and what doesn’t go into the child can’t benefit her. Keeping the lines of communication open about what foods are working for your child and what foods aren’t is critical to lunchtime success!

Dinner

Many studies have been done on the importance of sharing that evening meal together as a family. As families get busier and kids grow older with schedules and commitments of their own, it can become trickier to actually do this. Even if it is only a couple of nights a week, make the effort to come together and share the evening meal. As we move in different directions, it becomes more critical that we connect as often as we can. Many families find that sharing a meal of real whole foods with the television and cell phones turned off can go a long way to improve connection within the family!

Healthy Eating!

Rebecca Thompson

Foods to avoid or limit in packed lunches:

-Lunch meats (processed food, often includes nitrates and nitrites and other preservatives)
-Processed cheese
-White bread
-Juice (Very high in sugars and not a whole food. Replaces nutrient dense foods with sugar- even the 100% juice varieties. Use as a treat.)
-Soft drinks, especially diet with aspartame or nutrasweet (neurotoxin)
-Anything with words you cannot pronounce or font too small to read easily.
-Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
-Ingredients with MSG or its hidden names: Gelatin, Calcium Caseinate, Monosodium glutamate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), Textured Protein, Monopotassium glutamate, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP), Yeast Extract, Glutamate, Autolyzed Plant Protein, Yeast food, Glutamic Acid, Sodium Caseinate, or Autolyzed Yeast

Suggestions to include in lunch boxes:

-Homemade soups (use MSG free broth)
-Salad with dressing on the side (make this fun and try to come up with many varied toppings as you can.)
-Cut up vegetables with salad dressing (No hydrogenated oils, no MSG- especially watch Ranch dressing for MSG)
-Raw vegetables (snap peas, corn, steamed green beans, blanched broccoli)
-Fresh fruit (satsumas, kiwi, melon slices, fresh pineapple chunks, etc)
-Cheese (Read the label. It should have only 3-4 ingredients)
-Whole grain breads w/o preservatives (the best are made at home, followed by those sold at health food stores that need to be frozen or refrigerated to last more than two or three days, followed by whole grain breads sold at regular grocery stores.)
-Baked or grilled chicken slices or vegetarian protein combinations (whole grains with beans or nuts)
-Whole-wheat pita and hummus
-Homemade cookies or muffins
-Sparkling water or fruity herbal teas
-A fresh flower, a note from home, a cartoon, or something else to make your child smile.

Resources:

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price

Mothering Magazine July/August 2006 “The Lively Lunch Box” by Cynthia Lair

Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock- A great movie to watch with older children about the effects of eating fast food. My 8 year-old enjoyed this one!

Originally published in the BCI Parent Enrichment Journal

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Rebecca Thompson

Rebecca Thompson, M.S., is the founder of The Consciously Parenting Project. Rebecca has been actively educating parents and facilitating parent groups and workshops that encourage conscious decision-making in family life since 1998. As a wife and the mother of two boys, she has personal as well as professional experience navigating the terrain of parenting. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, with specialized training in attachment and trauma.
Click here to read her blog.