The start of a new school year brings excitement, fresh opportunities, and a return to busy schedules. It also means children are spending more time in classrooms, on school buses, and around large groups of peers, which can lead to increased exposure to germs and other health challenges.
Fortunately, a healthy school year doesn’t require a major overhaul of your family’s routine. Small, consistent habits can go a long way toward helping children stay healthy, focused, and ready to learn. Here are seven tips parents can use to help set their children up for success this school year.
1. Start with Prevention: Immunizations and Good Hygiene
One of the best ways to keep children healthy is to focus on prevention before illnesses begin.
Make sure your child is up to date on recommended immunizations, including annual flu vaccines and any other vaccines recommended by their doctor. Vaccines may not always prevent illness entirely, but they often reduce the severity of symptoms and lower the risk of serious complications and hospitalization.
Good hand hygiene also remains one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce the spread of germs. Encourage children to wash their hands when they arrive home from school, before eating, and after using the restroom.
Consider packing hand wipes or hand sanitizer to use before lunch or snacks at school.
2. Don’t Skip Breakfast
Mornings can be hectic, especially for teenagers facing early school start times. But don’t skip breakfast!
Children need fuel to power their brains and bodies. Breakfast helps improve alertness, concentration, and readiness to learn. Breakfast does not need to be elaborate: Bananas, yogurt, or a protein bar can provide a nutritional boost before the school day begins.
Think of breakfast as fuel for learning. When students start the day well nourished, they are better prepared to focus in class and participate in activities.
3. Make Healthy Lunches Easy
Whether your child packs lunch or purchases it at school, try to steer them to nutritious lunches.
Review school lunch menus with your child each week and help your child make healthy choices. Giving children input can increase the likelihood they’ll eat the food they select. Pizza Friday is fine, especially if healthy options are eaten throughout the week.
Families who pack lunches should include fruits and vegetables whenever possible and make sure foods are easy to access. Many children have only about 30 minutes to eat lunch, and younger students may spend a significant amount of that time struggling to open containers and packages. Have your child practice opening lunch containers at home.
For children buying lunch, encourage them to choose the fruit, vegetable, and milk options offered alongside the main entrée.
4. Prioritize Sleep
Many students develop different sleep schedules during the summer months, making the transition back to school challenging. Once school begins, maintaining a consistent bedtime and wake-up schedule is important.
Parents should ensure children are getting an age-appropriate amount of sleep. Consistency matters just as much as quantity. Even on weekends, keeping sleep schedules relatively stable can help children feel rested throughout the week.
Creating a bedtime routine can promote better sleep. Activities such as putting on pajamas, brushing teeth, and reading for a few minutes before bed signal the body that it is time to wind down.
Screens should be limited before bedtime. Phones, tablets, and other devices can interfere with sleep quality. Ideally, electronic devices should be put away an hour or two before bed and kept out of children’s bedrooms overnight.
5. Keep Kids Moving
Regular exercise supports overall health, improves mood, strengthens the immune system, and helps children manage stress.
Encourage children to stay active during recess by joining games, running, climbing or engaging in other forms of movement. After school, aim for an additional 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity.
6. Pay Attention to Mental Health
The beginning of a school year can bring new academic pressures, social challenges, and anxiety about changing routines. Regularly check in with children about how they are feeling. Warning signs that a child may be struggling include:
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Changes in appetite
- Persistent sadness or irritability
- Decreased motivation
- Falling grades
- Withdrawal from friends, family or favorite activities
- Loss of interest in school or extracurricular activities
- If a child seems unusually sad, unmotivated, or disengaged for more than a brief period, talk with a pediatrician.
7. Stay Safe on the Way to School
Whether children walk to school, wait at a bus stop, or ride the bus, review safety plans.
Children who walk should use sidewalks whenever available, cross streets at designated crosswalks, and avoid looking at phones or other devices while crossing roadways. Walking with a parent, sibling, or friend can provide an additional layer of safety.
Students who ride the bus should arrive at the stop on time, remain aware of their surroundings, and follow the driver’s instructions. If seat belts are available on the bus, children should use them.
No family can avoid every cold, virus, or challenge that comes with the school year. But a focus on prevention, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, mental health and safety can help children stay healthier and perform their best inside and outside the classroom.
And if your child does become ill, remember to keep them home when they have a fever, vomiting, diarrhea or other significant symptoms. Children should generally be fever-free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school.
Laura Rusch, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician at the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. She sees patients at the Kaiser Permanente Kensington Medical Center.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
