School Season Natural Wellness Tips

School Season Natural Wellness Tips … now is the time of year for immune system boosting plus time to stock your pantry and wellness cabinet with natural remedies for back to school.

Summer is coming to an end and kids are heading back to school. 

Now is the time to grab all of the school season natural wellness tips that you can! 

Some kids are already in school, others like my Little Love will be heading back at the beginning of September and some kids are getting back into their routine with homeschooling.

With summer coming to an end, most kids will be spending more time indoors. They’ll also be back in environments with more children and have greater potential for being exposed to “germies” a.k.a illness. 

This is also the time of year when the season changes and the commercial industry starts bombarding grocery stores with sugar-laden processed foods, candies and holiday desserts.

Many people start consuming large amounts of processed foods and sugary foods during this time of year. Not to mention filling lunch boxes with processed foods filled with food coloring, high fructose corn syrup, and ingredients that our bodies can’t recognize.

What does this lead to? An overworked weakened immune system. 

I feel grateful that lots of outdoor play is encouraged at my daughter’s public Waldorf school. But, even with outdoor play, she will still be getting a lot less time in the sun to soak up natural vitamin D. We all know how crucial vitamin D is.

When our kids get less time exposed to fresh air and sunshine plus spend more time indoors … chances are, their little immune systems will get overworked at some point. 

Boosting your family’s immune system is crucial during this time of year. 

Now is the time to plan for the upcoming season change and stock your pantry and wellness cabinet. 

School Season Natural Wellness Tips

Elderberry & Rose Hip Syrup 

If you only make one thing during the back to school year, make sure it’s Elderberry Syrup. This delicious syrup is a must! It’s known for being a fabulous flu preventative and great for both the cold and flu. I make this often and my family takes it year-round.

Vitamin C 

This is such an important vitamin and is wonderful for helping support the immune system. The best way to get vitamin C is through whole foods. Luckily there are lots of foods that most kids love like strawberries, citrus fruits, kiwi, pineapple, broccoli, bell peppers, etc.

That being said, most kids still aren’t getting enough vitamin C. I only choose a whole food, pure vitamin C with no synthetic ascorbic acid for my family. I also love to make this Vitamin C Herbal Tea infusion for my kids, they love it iced or hot. 

Vitamin D3 + K2

We all know vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients for our bodies. But without K2, vitamin D3 absorption is not optimal. This doesn’t mean you should be overdosing your body with a supplement, however most of us are deficient in vitamin D.

When possible, make sure your kids get outside and enjoy the fresh air. If there is sun shining, make sure they get some play time outdoors without sunscreen so they soak up vitamin D.

For my family, I know we need supplementation during the fall and winter months. I find it easiest to use a liquid vitamin D3 that has vitamin K2 for my family. I like that this brand is in a base of coconut oil and doesn’t contain anything else. The company that sells this will also send you information on how to properly dose from babies to adults. 

Probiotics 

Probiotics are so important for the gut, especially these days. Leaky gut, eczema, allergies and on and on … an imbalanced gut always plays a role. Antibiotics are also over-presecribed to so many kids and destroy beneficial gut flora. 

Pretty much everyone needs to be incorporating probiotics into their diet. More and more kids are starting to enjoy probiotics from whole food sources like fermented pickles, sauerkraut, water kefir, high quality grass-fed yogurt, kombucha, etc.

My Tiny Love really enjoys all fermented foods plus loves to drink kombucha and water kefir. If you’re new to kombucha, start slowly and with diluted amounts – try a 1:1 ratio of kombucha and water with your kiddos. I love making smoothies with kombucha for my kids too.

If you can’t get whole food sources into your kids, try looking for high quality probiotics like this, this or this brand. 

Collagen 

Grass-fed collagen is an awesome superfood! Like gelatin, it’s known for its health benefits of improving gut health, dental health, joint health, building stronger bones and supporting the immune system.

It’s easy to digest and dissolves easily in cold or warm liquids {not like gelatin which doesn’t dissolve, and gels instead}. It’s a great source of protein too!

My favorite trusted source is this grass-fed collagen. I put this into smoothies, homemade ice cream, honey sweetened hot chocolate, baked goods like muffins, soups and even protein-rich homemade chocolate peanut butter truffles.

Bone Broth

If your kids aren’t already drinking bone broth daily, now is the time to start. Bone broth is such an amazing, healing, nourishing food. It’s loaded with minerals that are readily available for your body to use, has gut healing properties, helps boost the immune system plus so much more.

It’s one of the best foods your can consume to replenish and nourish the body during illness. If your kids aren’t used to bone broth, a fun way to get them to drink it is from a mug with a fun straw. My kids love these glass straws, they’re perfect for sipping up nourishing bone broth.

Find out how to make your own bone broth here. You can also add bone broth into the foods you cook. Use bone broth as the broth in homemade soups, add it to sautéed vegetables, add it to meat dishes like pot roasts or roasted chicken, etc.

Tinctures 

I love tinctures! They’re a super potent and concentrated. During the fall and winter months, I always make sure to have echinacea, thyme, elderberry, calendula, and cranberry tinctures on hand.

Echinacea is known for immune boosting, helping with viruses and helping infections. Thyme is known for supporting the immune system as well as respiratory support. Elderberry is known to support the immune system. Calendula is known as a natural antiseptic, for being very healing, and supporting the nervous system.

Cranberry is a great one to have on hand too because it’s known for helping decrease the duration of colds and the flu. At a wellness class I attended years ago, the teacher explained that it basically coats the inside of the body and bacteria cannot grow or thrive with it. Pretty cool! 

Thieves Essential Oil

I love to diffuse therapeutic-grade Thieves essential oil {an oil blend containing clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary} in my home during the mornings before school or in the afternoons after school. I keep my atomizing diffuser {one of the most advanced diffusers} in my living room and school work/family room.

Atomizing or nebulizing diffusers help provide therapeutic healing benefits of essential oils by creating a super fine mist in the air. They do not use water to diffuse, they just emit airborne particles of essential oils. 

I also make roll-ons for my oldest daughter with Thieves to use on the bottoms of her feet before school and at night before bedtime. I use a carrier oil like organic olive oil or organic jojoba oil and do a 1% dilution for ages 6+ {1% = 1 drop per 1 teaspoon of carrier oil}. 

Thieves® essential oil blend was inspired by the legend of four 15th-century French thieves who formulated a special aromatic combination composed of clove, rosemary, and other botanicals they used while robbing the dead and dying.” ~ Young Living 

Thieves essential oil is known for helping support a healthy immune system. Not only does it smell amazing but it’s an awesome immunity booster. This is one essential oil that I always make sure I have on hand. 

You can buy therapeutic grade Thieves essential oil here at wholesale price {24% off retail}. If you buy essential oils elsewhere, be sure that they’re real, pure 100% therapeutic grade essential oil or they may not work. Many store bought oils are not pure and contain synthetics – learn more about it here.

Calming Tea 

This calming tea is perfect when your little one needs a little help calming at the end of the day – or needs some help getting to sleep. It helps promote sleep and helps calm the stomach plus quiet the mind.

We all know how important sleep is to help keep our immune systems healthy. Well rested kids is a good thing.

Himalayan Salt Lamp

Speaking of sleep, young children often struggle with fear around sleeping in the dark. A great alternative to night lights {which actually disturb sleep because it’s “blue light” affects the body’s ability to slow down at night and rest deeply} are salt lamps. 

I love these Himalayan salt lamps, they are so beautiful and add just the right amount of light pink calming light. When heated, they are known to release negative ions to help purify the air, which is a great added benefit. Remember, when children are well rested, their immunes systems will be happier.

Sea Salt 

You might be wondering why I am mentioning sea salt. The answer is simple. Our bodies need it for optimal health. So many of us are deficient in so many minerals. Sea salt is like a natural electrolyte and contains minerals.

Most kids are pretty active at school during recess or during after school sports. Making sure they stay hydrated is super important. This is where sea salt comes into play. Skip the commercial sports drinks that are full of food coloring and sugar and opt for salting water with sea salt or making your own homemade electrolyte drink.

My absolute favorite sea salt is Celtic sea salt. When buying sea salt quality is important, make sure to look for sea salt that is dried at low temperatures and contains minerals and trace elements. Usually these salts will appear to be more damp than regular salt. 

Hot Garlic-Ginger Lemonade 

Sometimes even when we’re doing everything to take care of our bodies, we still get sick. When you’re child is under the weather or shows beginning signs of starting to get sick, try this Hot Garlic-Ginger Lemonade.

It sounds kind of weird, but it’s a wonderful immune boosting natural remedy. It tastes good too! It’s sweetened with honey or organic maple syrup and it’s just sweet enough for kids to enjoy. It’s very warming and soothing when you’re feeling kind of run down.

Loving Messages You Can Give to Your Children

Make sure to offer lots of positive thoughts and create a peaceful environment at home. When children feel more secure, their bodies stay healthier {just like with adults, when we are stressed it takes a toll on our bodies}. Do your best to keep the home a happy and comforting space.

End each day with loving messages to your child. Spend time reading to them, cuddling and hugging – this helps their little bodies calm down for the day. Talk to them about the positive things that happened during the day. Talk about how tomorrow will be a happy day and how much you love them. Keep it uplifting and positive, send them off to dreamland with lots of positive messages.

I have a special routine with my oldest daughter, my Little Love. I end each night with her saying the same thing. It’s kind of long, but the last couple of sentences that I say every night are, “You’re happy, healthy and whole and tomorrow is going to be a happy day.” Make sure to end each night sharing positive words with your kids like – happy, healthy, whole, strong, loved, proud, beautiful, etc. 

Need more school season natural wellness tips?

Send Your Kids to School with Real Food Lunches 

I am super passionate about how we feed our children. Most school lunches are full of processed foods … this doesn’t do anything for a child. We need to start thinking about what we are putting into their growing bodies … foods that boost the mood, support the brain and nourish the body.

It can be super simple too! Homemade muffins, gummies, jello, sausages, crackers and breakfast cookies can be great lunchbox additions or snacks. Leftovers make great lunches too! Need some inspiration for real food lunches? I’ve got you covered with 100+ Real Food Lunchbox Ideas. 

MORE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Protein Rich, Freezer Friendly, Grain Free Chocolate Banana Muffins

Elderberry Herbal Tea

Nourishing Honey Sweetened Hot Chocolate with Superfood Options

Disclaimer: ALL information you read on Recipes to Nourish is purely for informational and educational purposes only. I love to share and share with love, but I am not a health care practitioner. Information is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. Statements within this site have not been approved by the FDA, meaning information and statements regarding health claims on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All blog posts are solely my personal experiences and opinions and should not be interpreted as an attempt to offer a medical opinion. If you have questions about food, diet, nutrition, natural remedies or holistic health, please do your own research and consult with your health care practitioner. For more information please see all of my disclaimers and disclosures. 

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave