Is It Better for Kids to Have Lunch or Recess First?

Kids have so much to focus on in school, so they deserve, and need, quality break time. Thank goodness for recess, then—the perfect pause for kids to play and reset their energy—as well as lunch period for refueling.

Did you know, though, that the order in which those two breaks happen can have an important impact on how well your child does for the rest of their day?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) just took this into consideration when it updated its recess guidance for the first time in 13 years. Within its policy statement titled “The Crucial Role of Recess,” the organization stated that recess should be thought of as a child’s ”personal time” and an opportunity to interact with friends, get some exercise, and rest their brain before picking up academics again. The AAP also stressed that students who are scheduled to have lunch prior to recess most likely won’t get the most of these benefits.

“For students who eat lunch before recess, meals are often hurried and nutritionally incomplete, with students opting for fewer options and increased waste,” the statement notes. “Research supports ‘Recess Before Lunch’ to prevent a rushed lunch period and positively affect recess participation. Teachers and researchers have noted improved behavior and attention once students resume classroom work when recess occurs before lunch.”

Who knew? This does make tons of sense, though. Let’s take a deeper dive into why recess should occur before lunch, and how you can actually help your child get the very most out of both time periods, so they feel their best, and can do their best.

Thankfully, recess is widespread: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports 90% of U.S. schools schedule recess for grades K-5 (although the CDC recommends that recess be available for all students in grades K-12).

Still, it’s great that recess is so common; it offers kids a great way to blow off steam from their first hours of sitting at a desk. A 2025 study found that increasing daily recess lowers chronic stress in fourth-graders.

Recess doesn’t need to be outside to be effective, either.A 2026 study found that making school gym facilities available for kids due to bad weather resulted in kids spending 51% of their time physically moving, as opposed to 28% physical movement time outdoors.

However, the CDC also notes that only 11% of U.S. schools that schedule recess hold it before lunch, which is not the most productive choice. “Recess before lunch is definitely better for focus and nutrition,” says Heather Wittenberg, Psy.D., a parenting psychologist in Maui, Hawaii, and founder of BabyShrink.com. “Also, it gives a child the ability to enjoy how recess can settle their mind before going back into class.”

A huge reason: lack of time, which leads to hunger. More data from the CDC found that about half of the nation’s school districts give students less than 20 minutes for lunch, start to finish. That time is most likely even shorter once you factor in some combination of getting to the cafeteria, using the restroom, waiting in line for food, paying for the meal, and busing the trays afterward—not to mention all the time they spend chatting with friends. This might not leave enough time to actually eat, which means more food waste left on their trays—and emptier stomachs when they go back to the classroom.

A great solution: scheduling at least 20 minutes of recess first, then 20 minutes of guaranteed “seat time” at lunch (two more CDC recommendations), so kids work up an appetite, then have time to actually enjoy a full meal. A 2025 study review found that with this recess-first approach, kids actually ate more food and drank more milk, then behaved better, with increased concentration, once they were back in the classroom.

First of all, ask your child how they feel about the schedule. Do they feel restless after a couple of hours in the classroom, and wish they could run around before they eat? When at lunch, do they actually get to eat enough food, and if not, is it tough for them to pay attention in the afternoon?

Once you get the answers to how lunch before recess is affecting your child, and you see that a change would be better for them, contact the school. “Parents can advocate by sharing the AAP findings with the principal and PTA and/or the school board,” Wittenberg says. “You can draw attention to the improved behavior and attention part of the guidance, as that directly impacts classroom learning.”

You can also offer specific examples as to how recess before lunch can actually help students learn better, too. According to the California Department of Education, recess-before-lunch provides teachers with more instructional time, because kids don’t need as much time to settle at their desks.

If your school still elects to schedule lunch before recess, there are still steps you can take that will help make things easier for your child:

• Keep lunch simple. “Pack only quick, easy-to-eat foods for lunch that don't require a lot of assembly or cleanup,” says Wittenberg. “Think finger foods, or pre-cut fruit. This will minimize waste and rushing for your child.” It’s also a great way to make sure your child not only has a healthy meal, but enough calories so that they have stamina for the whole day.
• Help students transition between lunch and recess. “Encourage your child to take a few deep breaths right after eating, to help settle their stomachs and minds before active play,” Wittenberg says. Remind your child to spend some fun time at recess talking with their friends, too—social engagement is a great brain boost that will help them learn well later.
• Amp up their healthy food intake at home. “Redouble your efforts at creating super nutritious after-school snacks and dinner, to make up for a rushed ‘non-lunch’ break,” Wittenberg adds. Make sure that mealtime at home is a calm, pleasant experience. Tell your child they don’t have to rush through eating, a habit you may notice they’ve picked up if they do have a short lunch period at school.

It’s better for your child to have recess before lunch, for sure. If that can’t happen, though, you can definitely help them make the best of things. Giving your child a sufficient amount of delicious, nutritious packed lunch that they can eat in a compressed amount of time will make them feel better physically. Just as important: knowing they have yummy food made with love by you waiting for them at home will make them feel safe and supported!