You finally got your son to eat strawberries, peaches and apples for snacks this summer instead of potato chips and candy. But now that it's nearly time for him to return to school, it may not be as easy to keep him from grabbing the burgers, pizza and fries in the school cafeteria, even if you pack a nutritious lunch.

Plus, after a long day of school, he'd rather flop down to play video games than run around playing football or basketball, so it's more difficult to keep him moving.

Health, food and fitness experts say it can be challenging for parents to help their children develop life-long healthy eating and fitness habits, but parents can control how and what their children do during the school day by first fostering healthy habits at home.

They offer a variety of quick tips and suggestions to help your child get and stay healthy and whole for the school year.

Be Creative / Robin Miller, host of the Food Network's "Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller" and author of several bestselling cookbooks — including her latest, "Robin to the Rescue: Quick & Simple Recipes for Delicious Home Cooking" (Taunton, $12.89) — says parents who are more creative often are successful at getting their children to eat well.

"There are no rules as long as kids explore new flavors and textures on a regular basis," writes Miller on the Web site feedourkidswell.com, which offers tips for eating well. She offers a few ways for

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parents to become more creative about making kids' diets more nutritious:

Offer vegetables at different times of day or evening: Dice tomatoes and put in scrambled eggs .

Serve salads with most meals. Use dark, leafy lettuce such as romaine with a variety of colorful, crisp vegetables such as celery, zucchini, carrots and bell peppers, and add flavorful dressing.

Keep super foods around. Never run out of carrots, apples or broccoli.

Watch it. Monitor the amounts of fat, sugar and salt children consume.

Include your children in the decision-making process. When kids feel involved, they're more likely to try new things, including healthy food. Never give up. Keep trying new foods, and repeat past foods to expose your kids to a variety of nutrients.

Pack It Up / Packing a good, healthy lunch doesn't have to complicated, says Sue Frederick, author of "A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children" (McGraw-Hill, $14.95), who advises parents to keep everything simple.

"Don't try to be fancy or gourmet," she writes. "Chances are your child prefers simple foods. Try tuna or cheese sandwich squares accompanied by rice cakes and peanut butter, as well as fresh fruit."

Frederick, who also writes for holistic.com, also makes these suggestions for packing healthy school lunches on the site:

Reduce the carbs. Think of ways to get protein into the lunch instead of just carbohydrates. Add a cheese stick, a small cup of tuna salad with pickles, or sliced meat and veggies in a pita pocket. Provide a cup of peanut butter for dipping apple slices or smearing on top of mini rice cakes.

Prepare on Sundays. Fill small plastic containers with vanilla yogurt and frozen blueberries or strawberries, and freeze them. On school mornings, place them in your child's lunchbox. At lunchtime, it's a cool, healthy treat. Try cups of green beans, peas or corn, which also can be cooked, packed and frozen on Sundays. Also, pack treats such as organic popcorn and pretzels ahead of time.

Be creative. On hot days, make a smoothie in the morning and put it in a Thermos. Add whole-wheat crackers, sliced cheese or turkey, and some toasted tamari almonds. This sort of creative lunch keeps your child interested in the healthy food .

Provide fresh, raw veggies with dip. Many children will happily eat baby carrots, broccoli heads and red pepper strips with a tasty ranch dressing.

Shop for your child's lunches at a natural foods store. This way, you'll know your child's diet will be lower in preservatives, nitrates, additives or unnecessary sugars and salts. And choose organic whenever possible. With the reported positive impact on the immune system, the usually higher cost is an investment in your child's future health.

Keep Them Moving / Children should spend no more than one to two sedentary hours staring at a screen a day, according to the American Heart Association. That time includes watching television, playing video games or staring at a computer screen. However, most American children spend four to six hours a day on these activities. You may not be able to prevent your child kicking, screaming and throwing a tantrum if you reduce his or her sedentary time, but the American Heart Association's tips might help with the transition:

  • Have a plan. Be prepared to offer alternative activities to TV or video games. You might consider family game night, shooting some hoops, walking the dog or exploring a nearby park.

  • Be active with your kids. Experts say that what kids want more than anything else is time with their parents. To give them that, don't just send them out to play — go play with them. Take walks, ride bikes, go swimming, garden or just play hide-and-seek outside. Everyone will benefit .

  • Remove the tube. Don't position your furniture so the TV is the main focus of the room. Remove televisions from bedrooms.

  • Plan TV watching in advance. Go through the TV listings and pick the shows you want to watch. Turn the TV on for those shows and turn it off afterward .

  • No rewards. Avoid using TV as a reward or punishment.

  • Practice what you preach. Your kids won't accept being restricted to two hours of TV watching if you are vegging out for four hours. The best way to influence your kids' behavior is through example.

    Keep It Clean And Healthy / Most parents can't think of anything worse than a sick child. The kids are cranky and nobody gets any sleep. The Centers for Disease Control offers suggestions for steps you and your child can take to keep him or her healthy while spending most of the day in school. Here are some tips for keeping your child healthy everywhere at school from the classroom to the restroom:

  • Get them immunized. The state requires your child's immunizations to be up to date.

  • Wash up. Teach your child to wash her hands for at least 15 seconds after using the restroom. A good way to train her is to have her sing "Happy Birthday" twice.

  • Buy mechanical pencils. Studies show the community pencil sharpener is the most germ-ridden item in a classroom.

  • Talk to your child about germs. Share the dangers of common surfaces such as the handles on the water fountain, door knobs, light switches and paper towel dispensers.

  • Wipe it off. Send anti-bacterial disposable wipes to school. Also, teach your child to wipe off the desk and the computer mouse.

  • Use anti-viral tissues. These are effective because they kill bacteria when the tissues get wet.

  • Ah-choo. Teach children to sneeze into the crook of their arm instead of their hands.

  • Sorry, no sharing. Buy them their own crayons and pencils, and ask them not to borrow others'.

  • Bless the child who's got his own. Make sure your little one is equipped with his or her own tools. Anything that passes from person to person could be carrying germs.

  • Be afraid of backpacks. Teach your child to hang his or her backpack on the hook in the bathroom. Wash your child's backpack regularly.

    7 ways to help kids develop healthy habits

    Encourage physical activities that children really enjoy. Every child is unique. Let children experiment with different activities until each finds something that he or she really loves doing. They'll stick with it longer if they love it.

    Be supportive. Focus on the positive instead of negative. Everyone likes to be praised for a job well done. Celebrate successes and help kids and teens develop good self-image.

    Set specific goals and limits. Aim for one hour of physical activity a day or two desserts per week other than fruit. When goals are too abstract or limits too restrictive, success decreases.

    Don't reward children with food. Candy and snacks as a reward encourage bad habits. Find other ways to celebrate good behavior.

    Make dinnertime a family time. When everyone sits down together to eat, there's less chance of children eating the wrong foods or snacking too much. Everyone develops good eating habits together and the quality time with the family will be an added bonus.

    Make a game of reading food labels. The whole family will learn what's good for their health and be more conscious of what they eat. It's a habit that helps change behavior for a lifetime.

    Stay involved. Be an advocate for healthier children. Insist on good food choices at school. Make sure your children's healthcare providers are monitoring BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol.