Whether your child is returning to school in September after a hot, fun-filled summer, or starting school or moving up to a new school for the first time - preparing to go back to school can be stressful for both you and your child.

Your child will fall into one of two categories - really looking forward to going back to school or dreading it - chances are you're already on countdown to the start of the school year!

You might well be already adding a new school uniform, lunch box, and pencil case to the back to school shopping list, but it is also important to ensure your child's concentration levels are back in full gear for the upcoming school year. In addition to sending them to bed earlier, waking them up earlier in the morning and throwing in a few brainteasers such as a word search to kick-start their brain, you may want to look at what they eat.

It has been shown that children's nutritional intake may be related to their mental performance and concentration levels. When we learn something new, our brain cells send messages to one another, but to do this efficiently the cells need proper nourishment and that's why food is a powerful tool for maintaining brainpower.

Brain food

For generations, fish has long been known as brain food because it is rich with essential long chain fatty acids - or Omega-3, which are regarded as the building blocks of the brain. Increasing evidence suggests that children's dietary intake of Omega-3 is related to mental performance and concentration levels.

Over 23 schools and 120 children, aged between 6-11, took part in one of the largest multicentre across the United Kingdom to find our whether a daily dose of Omega-3 with vitamins would help their concentration and behaviour in schools and at home. The results showed that supplementing with Omega-3 with vitamins substantially improved the children's behaviour by 35 per cent with teachers and parents noticing improvements in attention levels and that the children were generally more alert, focused and conscientious.

Although Amega-3 is widely regarded as beneficial for children, it can be difficult to get them to eat oily fish, particularly when taste is so important. Fortunately, there are delicious alternatives available such as Haliborange Omega-3 which can provide children with all the goodness of fish without the taste!

So why not take the stress out of going back to school this September and enjoy the summer holidays with your child to the max.

Amanda Kirby. The Omega-3 Vitamin Classroom Study 2005. The Dyscovery Centre Report