Back to School, Back on an Eating Schedule

Summer is a time for backyard BBQs, apple pie, and ice cream. All the wonderful and tasty treats of the season are a part of that experience for everyone. Unfortunately, the party has come to an end. The school year is upon us and it is time to revert back to the never-ending cycle of breakfast-snack-lunch-dinner. While in some aspects this simplifies the age-old struggle of what and when to eat, there are some unique challenges that must be overcome to ensure a smooth and healthy transition into eating properly for the school year.

The school eating schedule is centered around your child’s academic day. For most, breakfast is the easiest. Regardless of your age, breakfast is an important part of your day so ensure it is a balanced meal of energy and mind stimulating foods such as natural fruit juices, dairy, and grains.

Snacks should be geared towards maintaining good sugar levels and energy so pack those fruits such as apples, bananas, and grapes.

Lunch is often the most challenging meal of the day for children. As a parent, you want to ensure your child has enough to sustain them until the end of the day providing just the right amount of food. A good hearty sandwich, a serving or two of fruit and vegetables is a good midday meal to carry them through the afternoon. A good, small sugary sweet goes a long way with lunch as it serves to satisfy a sweet tooth and act as a reward. Bringing lunch from home is a great opportunity for your child to learn proper nutrition, participate in food purchasing decisions, prepare their own lunches, and ultimately learn their bodies’ cues for hunger and fullness.

An alternative to bringing lunch (or breakfast) from home is the school cafeteria. Depending on your school district, the school cafeteria can be a healthy viable option or a verifiable nightmare for the health-conscious.  Many school lunches, even after the federal government regulations imposed healthier choices, continue to rely on prepackaged foods which are often fried. While the oil used is healthier, is not necessarily the best. Many school districts have added prepared salads or even salad bars, which are a wonderful addition to any cafeteria, though you may need to teach your child how to be salad bar savvy.


Your school district or school will have monthly menus posted online. Reviewing the lunch menus with your child is another opportunity to reinforce healthy eating decisions as well as evaluating the family meal planning. Many school cafeterias have extras such as fruit, chips, and ice cream. Like bringing snacks from home, some of these are good options and others should be eaten in moderation.

Well-fed students are not just happy students. Understanding your child’s hunger cycles and how to adapt to those cycles to the daily school schedule will help your child focus in the classroom. Whether you and your child are preparing lunch at home, utilizing the options in a school cafeteria, or a combination of the two, you are helping guarantee that your child will be more alert, motivated and ready to learn from the first bell to the dismissal bell.