Kids & Summer: Sleep, Snacks, and Staying Healthy

Summer break is here, and your kids want to stay up later than during the school year. You probably set rules at the start of summer, but sometimes they’re hard to enforce.

Summer brings many challenges, such as maintaining a healthy diet, limiting screen time (if that’s an option in your home), and, of course, managing sleep. Many children stay awake too late and sometimes skip a nutritious breakfast.

According to expert and dietitian Dr. Maya Roseman, changes in meal timing and choices can lead to weight gain if less healthy foods are consumed. A study examining this issue, and its relationship to weight, body fat percentage, daily calorie expenditure, children’s behavior, and eating habits, reveals some fascinating findings.

In the study Dr. Roseman discusses, children aged 3–5 participated. She notes, “Children who went to bed late tended to overeat, delayed the next day’s meals, had a higher body fat percentage, burned fewer calories, and had an increased risk of obesity. This is further proof of how crucial it is for kids to maintain regular sleep hours.”

“Speaking of regular meals,” she continues, “it’s important to remember that breakfast cereals—most of the products on the market—have a nutritional value very similar to candy. Pouring an unmeasured heap of cereal into a bowl, adding milk, and eating it isn’t much different from dumping wafers in a bowl with milk. There’s nothing healthy about it.”

The recommendation is to consume only 30 grams. “That portion isn’t even enough for a two-year-old, so just be mindful,” she concludes.