Staying Healthy During Back-to-School Season

The new school year can be an exciting time for parents, teachers, and students alike. There are new things to learn, new people to meet, and new exciting experiences for your child to encounter in every classroom. Plus, for parents, the return to a normal schedule after a busy and hectic summer brings a sigh of relief. 

With September approaching, hopefully your kiddos are adjusting well to being back in school. As exciting of a time as this can be, this is the time of year when problems might start to pop up. From sickness to bullying to tiredness and crankiness, there are all sorts of things that can put a damper on your child’s school year. 

We want to offer some simple ways for you to make this time of year easy on you and your kiddos by keeping them happy and healthy. In this blog, we’ll explore how practicing proper hygiene alongside physical and mental wellness can help your child thrive this year. 

Preventing Sickness: Practice Healthy Hygiene Habits

As kids play on the playground, switch classrooms throughout the day, and use shared classroom supplies, they can pick up a lot of germs throughout the course of a normal school day. Especially as the weather gets cooler this fall, you’ll inevitably start to see viruses of many kinds make their way through your kids' school, from the common cold to COVID-19. 

Hygiene is one of the most important factors of keeping your kids healthy throughout the year. When you teach your children proper hygiene, you not only protect them from illness, but you also make it less likely that they will spread illness to other kids. 

Rules for Good Hygiene:

• Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough: Teaching your kids to cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze or cough significantly decreases the spread of germs at school. It’s best to show them how to sneeze into their elbow or a tissue; if they do sneeze into their hands, remind them to wash their hands immediately afterwards

• Wash your hands: Kids should wash hands with soap and warm water. Additionally, teach your kids to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. An easy way to teach them this is to have them sing “Happy Birthday” twice or say the alphabet once as they wash their hands. 

• Don’t share food or drinks: You might have taught your child the importance of sharing with their friends– and that’s great for things like toys and crayons. However, it’s important that your kids know NOT to share food and drinks with other kids. Not only can this spread diseases, but your child also might share something with a child who has a food allergy. Teaching children to not eat or drink after others keeps them and their peers safe. 

• Listen to your body: Kids are extremely resilient; it’s possible for your child to be sick and not even realize it at first! Check in with your kids occasionally to see how they are feeling, and pay attention to if they start acting differently than usual to try and catch sickness at its onset. 

  
  

Physical Health

The best way to avoid sickness is by getting ahead of it. How do you get ahead of sickness? By keeping your body in good shape year-round! 

Not only does prioritizing your child’s physical health keep them feeling their best throughout the school year, but learning healthy habits while they are young also increases the chances that they will continue these habits as adults.

Let’s discuss some of the things you can do to help your child stay physically healthy this school year!

Prioritize Nutrition 

Perhaps one of the most obvious factors that contribute to physical health is nutrition. Eating a well-balanced diet is  important for children to stay happy and healthy; however, we also know that kids aren't always the most excited about it. 

We know that eating can be a big source of tension for some families. Teaching proper nutrition can be hard for a multitude of reasons. However, your child needs proper nutrition so that their bodies and brains can function their best while they are at school! 

According to the CDC, children who start the day with a healthy breakfast tend to perform better in school and have less absences. Additionally, as children age, a healthy diet can help them avoid a ton of chronic health issues, including heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

It’s important for children to understand that a healthy diet is all about balance. They can still have sweets and junk food on occasion, as long as they also eat plenty of nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, veggies, healthy fats, and whole grains. 

If you have picky eaters in your family, try to be patient when offering new foods. You can offer new foods alongside foods they already enjoy or try preparing new foods in a variety of different ways to see if your child will be more open to trying them. 

For more information on how to help your children develop healthy eating habits, check out our blog all about it!

Get Plenty of Good Sleep

By now, most people are well aware of the importance of sleep for overall health and development, especially for children. Not only is good sleep absolutely essential to your child’s development and wellness, but your child can actually become more susceptible to illness if they aren’t well-rested. 

Why? During sleep, your immune system produces cytokines, which the body uses to fight off sickness. If your body doesn't create enough of these proteins, then it can’t fight off infections or illnesses as effectively. 

Simply put, your kid’s body needs sleep to keep them healthy!

However, knowing that your children need sleep and getting them to sleep are two different stories. We know that bedtime can be a stressful part of the day for kids and parents alike because of how hard it is for some kids to fall asleep. Here are just a few tips for making sure your kid gets enough, good-quality sleep: 

• Establish a bedtime routine that involves relaxing activities, such as reading or taking a bath

• Limit screen time before bed

• Make sure your kids get plenty of exercise in the day

• Invest in making your child’s room conducive to good sleep with a high quality mattress and blackout curtains

• Have your child sleep in a cool room 

  
  

Don’t Skip Your Wellness Visit

Your child’s yearly checkup appointment might not seem like a big deal as long as your kids are doing alright. However, consistency with your children's wellness visits is an important step in making sure they stay healthy! 

First, consistent wellness visits allow you to catch subtle differences in your child’s health. As your provider develops a relationship with you and your child, they’ll be more equipped to notice subtle differences in your child’s behavior that the average person might not notice. For example, a lot of children will end up discovering in elementary school that they need glasses; regular visits to your pediatrician increases the odds of discovering this before your child starts struggling in school or having headaches!

Second, consistent visits to your pediatric provider can provide valuable insight and resources if your child struggles with a chronic illness or condition. The most chronic illnesses that children deal with range widely in severity, from eczema to Type 1 Diabetes. Regular visits to your pediatric provider not only increase the chances of noticing these conditions early on, but your provider can also offer helpful advice to you and your family for managing these conditions on a daily basis. 

If you haven’t already, schedule a wellness visit for your child today! 

Mental Health

Now more than ever, mental health is an important topic of conversation with adolescents and teens. Bullying, comparison, and rejection simply skim the surface of social pressures faced by school-aged kids, and these things can all have a significant impact on your child’s mental health. Be present and aware of your child’s mental health so that you can help them navigate life with confidence and preparation. 

Look for Signs

One way you can help your child manage their mental health is by looking for signs they are struggling. 

Sometimes, kids don’t have the words to explain what they are feeling or why they might be feeling that way. As a parent, you can take some of that burden off your kids by noticing differences in their behavior. A child or teen struggling with their might exhibit the following behaviors: 

• Loss of interest in hobbies

• Sleeping excessively more or less than usual

• Eating excessively more or less than usual

• Sudden changes in mood (sadness, anger, hopelessness, etc.)

• Withdrawing from social activities 

• Self-harm

• Sudden decline of grades or academic performance 

• Excessive worrying or repetitive behaviors 

While not all of these behaviors necessarily prove that your child is struggling with their mental health, these are some of the signs to look out for if you suspect that your child is struggling with their mental health. Understanding your child and their normal behaviors is the best way to make sure you can recognize when they are having a hard time. 

Check In With Your Kids

It’s also important to hear directly from your children how they are doing! As children grow up, they might feel uncertainty as to what is worth sharing and what isn’t. As a result, there might be some significant things going on in their lives that you might never know about if you don’t ask. 

Have a conversation every once in a while with your kids to see how they are really doing. How you set up these conversations is completely up to you, your child’s needs, and your family dynamic. These can be formal or informal, weekly or daily, five minutes or thirty– whatever works best for your child to express how they feel and share their struggles. 

Try to be patient with your children, as well. Remember that they are navigating the world for the first time and having a lot of new experiences, which comes with a lot of big, unfamiliar feelings. If your child struggles to express themselves emotionally, try using The Feelings Wheel as a resource to help them find the words for their feelings. 

Practice Makes Perfect

Remember that turning new routines into habit takes time and effort. As a family, work together to make better decisions today in order to create a healthier, happier life not just for your kiddos but for EVERYONE in the family. 

For more advice on staying healthy throughout the school year, contact your pediatric provider! Like we mentioned, your provider has known your child through various stages of development and can offer health advice specifically tailored to your family’s needs. Together, you and your kids can make this school year their best one yet!