With back-to-school nerves and stress affecting both parents and children, it’s often easy to become overwhelmed during this busy month. Here are some secrets to naturally keeping your kids calm, healthy, and productive for the coming school year.

1: Discover Three Nutrients All Kids Need
Get started with three basic dietary supplements: a multivitamin, probiotics (acidophilus and bifidus), and essential fatty acids (EFAs). You may want to introduce these slowly. That way, you can establish a routine and see how your children respond before everyone’s schedule gets crazy. Here’s the why behind our nutritional supplement recommendations: • A high-quality multivitamin ensures a baseline level of nutrition, which is very important when you can’t watch what your children are eating during the day. There are many high-quality products available at health food stores designed to suit kids’ tastes.

• Probiotics, such as yogurt or acidophilus tablets, contain natural bacteria that act as digestive aids. When children’s stomachs are upset (like when they’re feeling stress at school), their systems don’t function properly and it’s harder for them to concentrate in class.
• EFAs from flaxseed oil, nuts, and seeds may enhance brain activities in some children. University of Oxford researchers gave omega-3 fatty acid supplements to British children with developmental coordination disorder (which is similar to both dyslexia and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder) in a 2005 study. About half of the young participants who took the supplements showed increased attention spans and improved their reading skills.
  
  Easy ways to supplement your children’s diet with EFAs include chewable docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) tablets and flavored flaxseed oil. You can also find flavored fish oil capsules and liquid. Or stir ½ tsp. flaxseed oil into the peanut butter you spread on a sandwich, or substitute flaxseed oil for part or all of the oil in salad dressing or muffin recipes. Hemp seeds are another good EFA source and taste great as a snack or sprinkled on salads, sandwiches, or oatmeal.

2: Follow a Few Simple Rules for Breakfast and Lunch
First, jump-start their day with a well-rounded breakfast. To keep your kids energized, whole-grain cereals are OK in-a-hurry options—just steer clear of super-sugary brands that offer little nutritional value. EnviroKidz Organic cereals are a good option. (For more on wholesome cereal choices, see the article “Cereal—Think Outside the Bowl” on p. 74.) Aim for a serving of fruit for vitamins and antioxidants, a slice of whole-grain bread for slow-release energy, and protein, such as an egg or 2 Tbs. of nut butter, to prevent midmorning hunger pangs.

Next, you can tackle lunch. Follow the same guidelines when packing a lunch box (most schools still don’t make the grade when it comes to nutritious foods, so stick with packing something for kids). Include two servings of fruits and veggies, a whole grain, and a protein. This will help prevent afternoon blood sugar crashes and sluggishness.

3: Try Natural Remedies to Calm Nerves
If your child gets nervous easily, try giving him or her herbal tea such as Tazo’s Calm. This blend contains chamomile, which has sedative properties, along with other soothing flowers, herbs, and vitamins.

If your child doesn’t like tea, try adding three or four tea bags to a warm bath or make your own lavender bath by tying up a few tablespoons of dried lavender flowers in a square of cheesecloth. The aromatherapeutic properties of the tea or herbs will soothe them while they bathe.

For on-the-spot help, try Bach Flower Essences Rescue Remedy, a plant-based tonic that’s safe for kids. Put a few drops under the tongue before school or whenever they start to feel panicky. It’s always good to plan ahead when managing back-to-school stress using natural cures.

4: Learn How to Improve Their Sleep
Sleep ties into everything: mental performance, memory, stress levels, even growth and development. School-age children should get 10 to 11 hours per night. For adolescents, nine hours is optimal. To help them hit the hay on time, try these tips.

• Limit stimulants such as caffeine and chocolate after 3 p.m. and cut off all snacks 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Keep bedrooms dark, cool (65°F or lower), and quiet.
• If your children regularly have trouble falling asleep, give them liquid calcium (250 mg) and magnesium (125 mg) an hour before bed to help promote muscle relaxation.