Back to School Again… Are We Ready? 🌞📚
- Sunny Health DPC
- Aug 10
- 2 min read
Summer is almost over, and somehow we are back to packing lunches, finding water bottles, waking sleepy kids up, and asking, “Where is your other shoe?”
As a family doctor and a mom, I think back-to-school health can be pretty simple. We don’t need to make everything perfect. A few good habits go a long way.
Sleep first.😴
I can’t emphasize this enough.
A tired child has a harder time focusing, learning, remembering things, and sometimes just being pleasant. (Honestly, the same applies to adults.)
If bedtime has gotten later during summer, start moving it back now. School-age kids generally need 9–12 hours of sleep, and teenagers need about 8–10 hours.
Don’t wait until the night before school starts to suddenly announce an 8:30 bedtime. That usually doesn’t go very well.
What should we pack for lunch?
Keep it simple.
I usually think:
Protein + carbohydrate + fruit/vegetable + water
A sandwich with turkey or chicken, fruit, cucumbers, and yogurt is perfectly fine. Leftover chicken and rice? Also fine. Eggs, cheese, pasta, fruit, whatever your child will actually eat.
Lunch doesn’t need to look like Pinterest.
Try to include some protein so they aren’t starving an hour later, and don’t make the whole lunch sugar and refined carbohydrates. We want their energy to last through the afternoon.
And please send water. Especially here in Las Vegas.
Breakfast doesn’t have to be fancy either.
Eggs and toast. Yogurt and fruit. Oatmeal. A breakfast sandwich. Leftovers.
Yes, I said leftovers. There is no medical rule saying chicken and rice can’t be breakfast.
The goal is simply to give them some nutrition and energy before asking their brains to work for the next several hours.
Plan a little on the weekend.
You don’t need to meal prep 21 beautiful containers on Sunday.
Wash some fruit. Cook extra protein. Boil a few eggs. Have easy breakfast foods available. Ask the kids what they actually want in their lunches.
And if they’re old enough, let them help pack it!
Finally, give them a little time to decompress.
School can be tiring. New teachers, friends, homework, sports, expectations- it can be a lot.
Sometimes they need exercise. Sometimes they need to talk. And sometimes they just need a snack and 20 minutes where nobody asks them another question.
Healthy kids aren’t built from one perfect meal or one perfect routine. It’s the basics done consistently: sleep, real food, water, movement, and family time.
That’s a pretty good place to start.
Heads up!
I’ll also be posting more on our Sunny Health DPC YouTube channel, including some of my own easy breakfast and lunch ideas.
Nothing fancy, just realistic food you can actually make on a busy school morning or pack for lunch.
If you need some ideas, please check it out. And yes, I’m a family doctor cooking in my kitchen, so keep your expectations reasonable. I put the link below!
Wishing all our Sunny Health families a healthy and happy start to the school year!
— Dr. Lee
Sunny Health DPC
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