Research suggests that healthy lifestyle choices can support your child’s academic performance. This is why it is crucial for parents to encourage their children to eat nutritious food, get plenty of sleep and take part in daily exercise. To help your child make better lifestyle choices here is some helpful advice from an independent school in the City of London.
Don’t let your child skip breakfast
A nutritious breakfast will not only give your child energy, but it will improve your child’s concentration levels too. This is why it is really important that breakfast is never skipped in the morning. If you want your children to eat their breakfast in the morning, you have to model the same behaviour. You sitting down to eat breakfast is going to help them to feel like they can sit to eat, too. Whether you sit down to muesli from itsgrowli.com or you choose to make elaborate waffles with all the toppings, you need to make sure that you are sitting to eat breakfast. When you do this, you’re going to get the kids encouraged to sit with you and eat, too. Breakfast is important for their energy in the morning, and you’ll feel better for your own energy, too. Make it part of your child’s daily routine and they will feel the benefits, both mentally and physically. When planning their breakfasts, try to include foods that are high in fibre and rich in protein. This will give your child plenty of energy throughout their school day. You should also choose foods that contain omega-3 to help their brain function.
Encourage daily exercise
Regular exercise will help your child to maintain a healthy weight and strengthen their immune system. Research also shows that children who are physically fit usually perform better academically. To encourage your child to stay active you will need to role model a healthy lifestyle of your own. This might include walking to school instead of driving, joining a sports club or gym, or signing up to a charity run. Make sure they drink plenty of waterWater is not only important for your child’s health, but it can also have an impact on your child’s learning. Even the mildest form of dehydration can affect your child’s cognitive function and their behaviour. This is why it is vital to encourage your child to drink plenty of water, both at home and at school. Start by giving them their own refillable water bottle. If your child prefers sweeter drinks, you could try adding some sliced fruit to give it more flavour.
Have a bedtime routine
Sleep is incredibly important to children because it improves memory and aids concentration levels. During sleep your brain processes all of the information you have learnt throughout the day, so the more you sleep, the better your brain will function. To ensure your child is getting enough sleep it is important to have a bedtime routine. This will help to get your child into bed at a sensible time each night and improve their performance at school.