"I never let my kids leave without breakfast and plans for lunch," she says. "I know how important calories are to efficient learning, and my kids are consistently high achieving students. Encouraging my kids to be active, have friends and make good food choices has paid off in healthy attitudes already.
"I hate to see parents giving their kids sports drinks, which they believe are better than water, and driving their kids to school instead of getting the extra exercise by walking."
10. Adjust backpack straps and contents to spread weight. The majority of the weight is supported by hips and not hung on the shoulders. Encourage the use of both straps.
9. Walk your child to school. Reinforce good pedestrian habits, including crossing only in designated crosswalks, walking while facing the traffic, and adhering to all traffic signals and crossing guards.
8. Have simple, healthy after-school snacks available. A cup of low-fat yogurt and cut-up fresh fruit beats high-fat cookies and milk. Try crunchy carrots and celery in hummus dip - much healthier than potato chips and ranch dressing.
7. Try fruit yogurt, string cheese or low-fat ice cream, if your kids don't drink milk. Even fortified fruit juices will help build strong bones.
6. Encourage your kids to make friends and bring friends home. Social contacts are an important part of being healthy. Encourage them and their friends to play active games and play sports on a team or just for fun.
5. Don't use food as a reward or bribe. Candy may seem like a great way to get the homework done quickly, but this kind of reward teaches poor eating habits. Even healthy foods should not be used to reward or bribe. Accomplishment for its own sake is the best reward.
4. Don't fall into the "sports drink" advertising shenanigan. Most sports drinks contain nearly as much sugar as soda and are nothing more than empty calories. Lobby your school to remove them from vending machines and replace them with flavored, unsugared water or just plain water.
3. Read nutrition labels with your kids. Even small kids enjoy comparing good foods with "junk" foods using the labels. Start with simple calorie and fat count with your elementary-school children. By middle school, they can start evaluating vitamins and minerals. High schoolers can look for whole grains, little refined sugar and moderate sodium content.
2. Watch out for school lunches that have become high in fat and refined carbohydrates. Talk to your kids about making healthy choices. Encourage them to pack their own lunch and not trade for less healthy choices. If you have time, get involved in the school board or other agency that makes decisions about school food choices.
1. Get your kids started right with a whole-grain cereal and milk or yogurt. A little juice and perhaps a handful of nuts will help those growing brains assimilate much information.
Denise Signorelli of Las Vegas wants her two kids, Dagny, 14, and Tony, 11, to grow into healthy adults.
