In a Fox KTVU morning segment, certified health and fitness expert Reena Vokoun offers Bay Area parents practical guidance for the back‑to‑school transition. She outlines how to pack balanced lunches by including items from all major food groups and suggests strategies for dealing with picky eaters, such as adding a familiar favorite alongside healthier staples. Vokoun discusses sleep hygiene, citing American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations (9‑12 hours for elementary children, 8‑10 for teens) and recommends a household screen‑free rule an hour or two before bedtime to promote relaxation and better focus. Finally, she references CDC guidelines that children need at least an hour of daily physical activity, encouraging enrollment in sports, active play during recess, weekend hikes, and family participation to model a healthy lifestyle. The interview blends expert advice with relatable parenting anecdotes, delivering actionable tips for nutrition, sleep, and exercise.
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This is Mornings on 2.
Now all across the Bay Area, kids are either back in school or they are heading back over the next couple of weeks, and that means getting back into the groove, which can be a little tough.
Yeah, not just for the kids but the parents too. We've got Reena Vokoun live in our newsroom. She's a certified health and fitness expert, the founder of PassionFit, and she's a mom herself to 2 kids and is here to talk tips through that transition. Good morning.
Good morning. Thanks for having me today.
Well, let's start with a healthy breakfast and a good lunch. It's, it's hard enough to get the kids off to school, but oh yeah, you got to build them a lunch too. What can you do to make that healthy for the kids?
Yes, so with childhood obesity on the rise and many kids getting too much sugar and empty calories, it's good to focus on getting something from all of the major food groups. So as parents, if you can pack fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins, whole grains, healthy dairies, and things like that, healthy fats, those are all important to put into a healthy lunch.
What about if they're picky? Because I know you can put some stuff in and then they trade. They trade with the kids who brought the cookies.
Yes, or they throw it away.
Or they throw it away and say, "Mom, it was great. Thanks." Absolutely.
My kids can be picky, so I get it. So it's always good to have at least 1 or 2 things that you know they're going to eat. Maybe it's, you know, a blueberry muffin or some whole grain crackers or a bagel or something of that nature. That'll be a nice complement to the sandwich, to the grapes, the carrot sticks, and other things that you're putting as the lunch staples.
All right, something near and dear to our lives because we're up at God's hours sleep. Getting your kids back on a schedule, maybe during the summer they stay up a little bit later, you got to get out of bed, and of course you want them attentive when they get to school as well. What do you do?
Yeah, so you know, if your children are elementary school age, they're going to need about 9 to 10— excuse me, 9 to 12 hours of sleep. If they're teenagers, it's about 8 to 10 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. So if they're in that range, that's what's key. Some may be on the higher or lower ends, but as long as you're making sure they're getting that range of sleep, they'll be okay.
That is tough though, I Especially with summer, you know, I know that it's light out, they don't want to get in bed, and they, they really—
they got their phones, mechanical devices. How do you— how do you— you got to turn that stuff off pretty quick, right?
Yeah, so it's important to have a rule in the house for both the parents and the kids that maybe an hour or two before bed everybody puts away their screens, and then educate the kids on why. They're gonna give their brains a rest, their eyes a rest. It'll help them to calm down and relax before bedtime, and then hopefully they'll be more alert and focused for the school day.
You mentioned rules for parents too. Are Modeling is important, although it's very, very difficult sometimes.
It's hard, yes.
Let's talk about exercise because it's interesting, you know, they're sitting all day. Some schools have those standing desks now, but PE gets cut back. You know, I think it's also good, you know, you're trying to get to sleep, you know, maybe get them moving a little bit. When do you— how do you suggest the kids do that?
Yeah, so according to the CDC, children need at least an hour or more of exercise every single day. So if you can enroll them in sports sports. My kids like to play basketball and soccer. You know, other sports like gymnastics or dance could be good for kids as well. They're going to automatically be getting, you know, hopefully about an hour most days of the week with practices and games. But then encourage them during recess and lunchtime at school to be active on the playground. Maybe on the weekends take them for hikes or take them to the playground just to go on the monkey bars or things like that.
It's good for all of us if you do it with them, right?
Exactly, yes. You have to get the whole family involved. And yes, you do have to practice what you preach, but then you'll be modeling what it means to have a healthy lifestyle throughout their life.
All right, well, that is all great advice. Uh, Reena Vokoun, we so appreciate you coming in this morning and, uh, getting us off to the school year in the right way.
And good luck with your kids too.
Thank you very much. Thanks so much for having me.
