The school year poses a big change on your child's schedule. Here are some ways to keep your busy child's eating habits healthy:

Most schools regularly send schedules of cafeteria menus home. With this advance information, you can plan on packing lunch on the days when the main course is one your child prefers not to eat.

Try to get your child's school to stock healthy choices in the vending machines.

Vending machines choices can also be modified to eliminate high-fat and empty-calorie munchies and provide healthy snacks that include more fresh fruit and low-fat dairy products, as well as water and 100 percent fruit juice instead of sodas.

Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child's risk of obesity by 60%. Restrict your child's soft drink consumption.

Article Source: American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org)