As we start to see students return to our school districts this month, I wanted to pass along recommended good habits to ensure kids are best prepared to succeed each day. Some of these are admittedly common sense but also supported by the research. They include parents ensuring children have consistency in the following areas: a good breakfast, a good night’s sleep, and as I’ve preached for years

— parental engagement in their daily routine. And though these might be simple in nature, many students will fail to get enough of them on a regular basis.

First, if your children have not yet returned to school this month, you should consider getting them used to the school routine a few days before their actual start so you won’t need to spend extra time trying to get one of them out of bed that first day. As part of their routine, make sure your child eats a good breakfast. As we all know, having a good breakfast gives your child the energy to ensure they can be focused on learning.

In a study published by Marcie Schneider, M.D., a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition, 8-12% of school-aged kids skip breakfast, and as many as 20-30% skip this meal once they reach adolescence. “Study after study shows that kids who eat breakfast function better,” Dr. Schneider says. “They do better in school, and have better concentration and more energy.” Others’ research confirms the same, including a 2005 study published in “Physiology and Behavior,” which reports that children who eat breakfast “perform better on reading, arithmetic, and problem-solving tests.”

Getting a good night’s sleep is also key in improving your child’s academic performance. Multiple studies and researchers have concluded students who get quality, sufficient rest perform better in math and language classes. An important factor in getting a good night’s sleep is, as I’ve mentioned, consistency. Your child should strive to maintain a regular schedule, such as getting to bed at the same time every night, and that they “get as close to eight hours of sleep as possible,” says Dr. Alison Baker from the Child Mind Institute.

Additional recommendations from www. healthychildren.org include setting an earlier bedtime so your child can get up with enough time to eat breakfast. Parents should encourage breakfast as a priority meal for the family. And please don’t let a student who might have overslept from skipping out on breakfast because of time constraints.

Another area that needs parental monitoring is a child’s use (or overuse) of technology. It is now common knowledge that stopping the use of electronic equipment an hour or so before going to bed will help most people go to sleep faster. I have always recommended that electronic devices such as cellphones, laptops or tablets have a common charging station/location outside the child’s bedroom so that children are not tempted to use them or answer late hour calls, emails or texts.

At a time when we saw so many schools embrace remote learning last school year, parents should check whether their child can still participate in classes via remote learning if they are required to stay home for an extended period because of any ailment, illness or broken bone during the semester.

Finally, I want to end with what I believe to be the most important factor for a child’s performance — their parents’ engagement in education. It was the biggest takeaway from my master’s degree in education and what I have observed.

One report by the Center for Public Education summarized that students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, be promoted, and pass their classes. Additionally, it indicated that such students attend school regularly, have better social skills, and are more likely to graduate and go on to college.

I know that many parents, because of their schedules, won’t have the time to spend at the schools, but the center found one common factor of achievement: “Programs that engage families in supporting their children’s learning at home are linked to higher student achievement.” So, as best possible, spend time reviewing your child’s work at home and ensuring they spend quality time and effort on their projects.

For those parents that do have time, I encourage maintaining contact with your child’s teachers, confirm your children’s homework is being completed and track their progress and performance. Having your child explain or summarize their homework isn’t that time consuming. Many schools will have homework assignments annotated on student notebooks or online that they should be showing you. Please check with your student’s school to confirm if they have a homework tracking method.

One last recommendation from Dr. Joyce Epstein of the Johns Hopkins University on parental engagement includes families setting a regular schedule (same time and location/workstation in the home) for students to complete homework. She also encourages setting high expectations for your children and when possible, volunteering at the school for various events. I concur, and I thank my parents for their engagement and interest in my education when I was young.