Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding encourages patients to engage in healthy habits but also knows how hard that can be. Often it’s easier to start a good habit on a Monday, or the first of the month. The start of the school year is also a great time and can lead to ten and a half months of great habits. There are four areas in which Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding suggests all families try to get routines down for in order to improve overall health and .

1. Get Organized

That awful feeling of rushing in the morning can kill a day’s good vibe. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding suggests families put systems in place to eradicate those feelings, or at least reduce them to rare events. Here’s how.

• Set aside time to pack lunches and backpacks, lay out the next day’s clothes, and any special items that need to be brought to school the next day.
• Keep a master schedule of activities in the kitchen and children’s’ bedrooms so sneakers, sporting and band equipment isn’t forgotten.
• Have children involved in these routines to take stress off of yourself, your partner and also get kids into better habits.

2. Eat Dinner Together

Try not to overschedule kids so that a few times a week you can eat together as a family. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding believes in the importance of family time and children who eat dinner with their parents are likely to have better grades and stay out of trouble. Dinner time should be phone free and also a time to develop key social skills. Everyone should sit down together, wait for everyone to be served, and then wait until the last person is eating. Sure, sometimes there are reasons why not everyone will be present due to activities or work, but those who are home should eat together. This is also a good time to help your kids develop healthy relationships with food.

3. Move Together

Make daily activity a part of your school year routine. Keep it fun and you’ll develop a lifelong love of exercise. Here are some great ideas from Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding:

• Head outside while dinner is in the oven (or slow cooker) to kick around a soccer ball, play catch, or go for a walk.
• Schedule one activity per weekend: canoeing, hiking, tennis. If your kids are not athletic look at things that might engage them outdoors like birdwatching or casual cycling.
• Engage in activities that are free and outdoors to promote a love of activity with your kids.

4. Get Good Sleep

Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding knows what we all do: no one sleeps enough anymore. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation reports that 40% of adults experience such severe sleepiness several days a month that it disrupts their activities. Foster healthy sleep in your kids (and yourself) by following these guidelines:

• Enact a bedtime routine that is quiet and helps kids wind down. Reading, working quietly on a jigsaw puzzle, listening to music or audiobooks and being read to.
• Keep off electronics, including television, for two hours before bedtime.
• If your child seems sleepy, get them to bed. Children who start to get sleepy and then stay up develop cortisol — giving them that false “second wind”. Cortisol will keep them up and can aid in weight gain.
• Don’t allow beds to be used for anything other than reading before bed and sleeping. Doing homework in a bed, watching tv, and eating confuse the brain connection that helps kids fall asleep when the bed is for sleeping.

As the school year approaches, Dr. Ren-Fielding encourages you and your family to develop fun, healthy routines to keep your life stress free and healthy.