“The great thing about food is we have to feed our children every single day, at least three times a day. Most of our kids graze all day too. So these are great opportunities to be able to nourish their brains!”
- Lucinda Miller, esteemed Naturopath and Functional Medicine Practitioner.

Feed the Brain!

Has your child’s teacher suggested that your child is struggling at school with focus, learning or behaviour?

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Do they wake up grumpy and then get wired and tired after school?

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Are your evenings peppered with meltdowns and mood swings?

The school day is super-intense for most kids, especially if they have any SEN needs, and they can easily get exhausted… which can affect concentration, academic achievement and may even
lead to disruptive behaviour.

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It does not need to be this way!

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The Brain Health Movement is bringing together the brilliant experts, as well as the latest research and findings, to help guide the way to healthy brain development in our beautiful children.

New Podcast Episode Coming Soon!

In February 2024, we were over the moon to welcome Lucinda Miller, to our podcast, “The Mighty Quinn”. Lucinda is a world-class Naturopath, esteemed Functional Medicine Practitioner, Best-Selling Author and Founder of Nature Doc Clinic. She has over 25 years of experience working in the field and now runs a team of UK-wide nutritional therapists, specialising in family nutrition and children with Neuro-developmental challenges and delays.

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This is a match made in heaven with The Brain Health Movement!

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As you know, our focus at The Brain Health Movement is to look beyond managing symptoms to understand and address the ROOT CAUSES of neurological challenges.

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This means starting at the beginning with truly healthy foundations - regulating the central nervous system, inhibiting active primitive reflexes and looking at this in conjunction with a nutritious, wholesome diet and lifestyle habits.

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In the podcast you'll hear some extraordinarily helpful tips from Lucinda in her conversation with our founder, Lucia, as they dive into many of those tricky dilemmas and challenges we have with feeding our kids BOTH healthily AND affordably, as well as the critically important role that the gut and immunity play in everyone's overall health!

Listen to the Podcast here or watch the episode on our YouTube Channel below:

Help your Child shine at School:

In the Classroom

Many primary and pre-prep schools are finding it harder than ever before to teach their pupils. Escalating numbers of children need additional learning support; they seem disconnected and zoned out; many are wired, hyper and silly; and more and more kids can be belligerent and oppositional. These teachers are crying out for a calm classroom with engaged children, and they need help!

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Support your Child’s Learning

Being a parent these days can be tough.

We tend to be time-poor and can be stressed out and exhausted ourselves. So here are some nifty before and after school guidelines on how to create routines and habits for your children, so that they are better nourished and crucially, better rested for the next day. And the upside will probably be that they also become more of a joy to have around you after school that evening.

Some Diet and Sleep Hygiene Tips:

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High-Protein Breakfast

Studies have found that children focus better and are better behaved at school when they eat a high-protein breakfast. Think about eggs, Greek yoghurt (dairy free alternatives exist), a thick spread of nut butter on toast or ground seeds in porridge.

Prepare things the night before if you find the morning is too rushed.

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Hydration

Water is one of the important things for focus and mood.

Get them into a routine of drinking a large glass of water when they wake up, and fill up a water bottle to take to school so they have something to sip on during the school day.

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Nourishing after-school Snacks

School pick up is when our kids are most exhausted and hungry, so this is your chance to feed them some goodness and avoid the hyper-crazy sugar rush from shop-bought packaged snacks that can affect the rest of their afternoon and evening. A great tip is to freeze batches of healthy low sugar homemade flapjacks, muffins and cookies, these defrost super-fast. Perfect for those after-school munchies.

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Avoid too many After-School Activities

A child needs some downtime after a busy day at school, especially if they get easily overtired and overwhelmed, and this can affect their behaviour the next day too. Try giving them a healthy snack such as crunchy veg and hummus or a picky plate of fruit, cheese and nuts when they get back home from school. Pop on some soothing music or an audio story and let them play, before thinking about homework or additional therapies.

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A Wholesome Supper

School lunch can be hit or miss for so many reasons, so a supper cooked from scratch is super important during term time in order to optimise enough nutrients. This is a chance to get a filling meal with lots of veggies in. Aim to cook from scratch where possible and avoid chocolate and sugary puddings / drinks if you want to have a peaceful bedtime routine!

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Sleep Routines

We all know how grumpy and unfocused we can be when we don’t get enough sleep and your kids are the same. Primary school kids need at least 10½ hours’ sleep a night to thrive at school the next day. If they are too wired at bedtime, then consider a milky drink (no sugar and only if dairy tolerant), chamomile tea and an Epsom salt bath to calm them down before bed.

Something Yummy: Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

(Gluten-Free, Nut-Free and Low in Sugar!)

Take a look at one of Lucinda's amazing recipes for gluten-free, nut-free (option) and low sugar Banana Buttermilk Pancakes, that taste incredible and are kind to your child's gut!

View Recipe

Remember...

A well-nourished and well-rested child is more likely to be a happy and calm child the next day at school, so set them up with a lovely filling breakfast, make sure they have enough water, and keep them balanced after school, with good rest and wholesome food!