The last of our area schools are returning to classrooms, and we hope that fall routines are getting back on track at your house.  This is a common time for changes in routines to affect lots of aspects your child’s health.  Later summer schedules take time to change, but hopefully there will be less groggy mornings as you get back into a groove.   I often see constipation flair up when children rush off from eating breakfast to a packed day of learning.  Mix in some back to school jitters and reluctancy to use school bathrooms and it is easy to get into a pattern of withholding stool throughout the day that only leads to more trouble.  As you turn your focus to the fall routines, try to built time in to get some fuel into bodies (we are looking at you teenagers!) and go to the bathroom before leaving the house.  It’s often not as simple as it could seem!  Brainstorming easy recipes like healthy muffins or egg cups that lend themselves to freezing and thawing in the fridge overnight are some ways to set yourself up for success.  Regrouping your routine is also a great time to also look at screen time use and make goals to improve your health and wellbeing.  I talk all the time about how screens are engineered to light up our brains and the developing brains of all of our patients are particularly vulnerable.  It takes intentional limits like timers and strategies to put them out of reach to not let them take over gobs of time that can otherwise go toward sleep, moving our bodies and personal connection.  Any sort of change is hard, but the first step is thinking about what’s not working well and coming up with ideas.  We are always happy to help if you want help talking through concerns and getting support!