Some health tips to make sure your child is ready for the first day of school

After the long summer break from school, is your child ready to get back into the classroom? Whether they’re starting at a new school or just a new grade level, it can be stressful for children to return to the schedule and responsibility of classes.

As you prepare to send them back to school, you likely have many to-do lists, but be sure to include their health among your priorities.

One way to smooth their transition is by creating a back-to-school health checklist to ensure that their developing bodies are ready for another successful year. Going back to school can be physically taxing, even if your child has been playing outside all summer.

Here are some ways to guarantee a healthy school year, even before putting your kids on the bus.

Immunizations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have both published recommendations on childhood immunizations, but each state has its own list of mandatory immunizations to attend public school.

Parents should review these guidelines online or ask their pediatrician about the required immunizations. For example, to begin kindergarten in Pennsylvania, a child needs his or her hepatitis B, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis) IPV (polio), and MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccines.

Many of these are covered by your insurance and can be easily administered by your child’s physician.

Allergy tests

If you’ve been noticing your child has a runny nose or swelling over the summer, there’s no better time to discuss potential allergies with the doctor; a new school year can mean a whole slew of new allergens.

The doctor will look for a variety of symptoms and risk factors, including family history – if both parents have an allergy, it’s highly likely that the child will too. The doctor may also prescribe skin or blood tests, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to get results.

Allergy tests aren’t infallible, but it’s helpful to have an idea of your child’s triggers before sending them into a new environment, especially if they have been showing symptoms at home.

Vision screening

If your child comes home and mentions that they’re having trouble seeing the chalkboard in school, don’t fret!

Our eyes continue to grow until after puberty, so changes in vision are still possible. Trouble with vision can make it difficult for your child to perform well in school, so it’s best to have them screened at the first sign of an issue.

Beyond prescriptions for glasses or contacts, a regular checkup with your optometrist will ensure overall eye health as well.

Creating a sleep schedule

After weeks of open schedules and on-demand play, it can be hard to readjust to a full-time schedule of classes and after-school activities. To be at the top of their game, kids need plenty of sleep to keep up with their health and responsibilities. 

School-aged children and teens should be getting between eight and 11 hours of sleep per night. Getting enough rest not only helps them perform in the classroom, it helps with growth, heart health, weight control, and boosts their immune system.

Also, it’s important to limit electronics before bed, as it inhibits the onset of sleep. You can ease kids into their regular schedules over a few weeks and you might consider incentives for going to bed on time.

 

Joy C. Drass, M.D., FAAP, a board-certified pediatrician, sees patients at Geisinger Gray’s Woods, 132 Abigail Lane in Port Matilda. For information, call 800-275-6401.