As children return to classrooms this fall, parents can help ensure they thrive by prioritizing sleep, nutrition, vaccinations, asthma management and anxiety relief measures. Pediatric experts with Bethany Children’s Health Center share their top back-to-school health tips for parents.
Start with the basics
Summer is often a time when rules surrounding nutrition and sleep are more relaxed, and pediatrician Dr. Michael Coffey, medical director of general pediatrics at Bethany Children’s Health Center, recommends setting kids up for success by ensuring children get plenty of sleep each night.
“A student in elementary or middle school is likely to need between 10 and 12 hours of sleep each night, and your high schooler should try to get a solid nine hours of sleep each night, with eight hours being the minimum,” said Dr. Coffey.
Dr. Coffey also recommends emphasizing the importance of eating three meals a day and ensuring kids eat breakfast in particular.
“This meal is crucial to give your child’s brain and body the fuel they need to perform their best at school,” said Dr. Coffey.
Parents should also check on their child’s immunization status. According to pediatrician Dr. Molly Khoury of Bethany Children’s Health Center’s Pediatric Clinic, children are due for updated vaccines that protect against several serious illnesses at ages 4 and 11.
“Many parents don’t realize while we have effective vaccines to prevent infections from illnesses such as tetanus and pertussis (a nasty bug that causes whooping cough), we unfortunately don’t have good treatments if your child does become infected with these,” explained Dr. Khoury. “I understand these sound like infections from days long ago; however, we have started to see them more frequently.”
Managing asthma
Dr. Khoury also recommends seasonal flu shots, especially for children with a history of asthma or any chronic lung disease. Additionally for children with asthma, make an appointment with your child’s primary care provider to review asthma management and develop an asthma action plan to have on file with their school.
“It is often advisable for children with asthma to have an inhaler and space chamber at school – carried in their backpack if they are old enough to use the inhaler independently or sent to the school nurse to be used as needed,” added Dr. Coffey. “If your child is old enough, discuss their asthma symptoms with them as these can be more apparent to your child before others notice coughing or wheezing.”
Preventing illness
Back to school often means back to germs, but some simple preventative measures can help decrease the number of illnesses kids sustain throughout the school year.
“First, encourage your child to wash their hands at school and have them wash their hands as soon as they arrive home prior to eating their after-school snack,” said Dr. Khoury. “Second, have your children take off their shoes and leave them by the door when they arrive home. There are likely many viruses lurking on those shoe soles that you don’t want to be tracked into the house.”
Calming back-to-school anxiety
Times of transition can increase the likelihood of both short-term and longer-term anxiety.
Pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Alexandra Roth of Bethany Children’s Health Center says signs of anxiety include headaches or stomachaches, difficulty with bedtime routines as kids anticipate waking up for school the next day, or reluctance to board the bus or get out of the car in the carline.
For younger children and those with learning or social differences, picture books about going to school or being the new kid in school can help ease transitions.
“If there’s a topic that a parent thinks their child is worried about, a book can give you both a shared way to talk about it,” explained Dr. Roth. “It can help set expectations for what going to school looks like and help prepare the child.”
Parents can also focus on problem solving with their children and teens and acknowledging their worries.
“Sometimes as adults, we try to encourage our kids and might accidentally minimize or dismiss their worries or feelings,” said Dr. Roth. “We might say something like: ‘It will be fine, don’t worry about it!’ Instead, we can find the grain of truth in that fear and recognize it.”
Children with special needs typically have long and detailed individualized learning plans shared amongst teachers, administrators and caregivers. Beyond these plans, parents can ease the transition to a new classroom for both the child and the teacher by creating a one-page summary about their child to share with the teacher. Dr. Roth recommends using short, simple terms that tell who your child is, what they are working on, situations where your child shines best and areas that are challenging.
“It helps you as a family write the story of who your child is and what you’re hoping for this coming year,” shared Dr. Roth.. “It can be a quick introduction in addition to the big, formal plan.”
If signs of stress persist after a couple of weeks, or symptoms get worse, additional conversations with your child about their stressors, with classroom teachers about signs they are noticing at school and with your child’s pediatrician about next steps may be warranted.
With thoughtful planning and preparation when it comes to kids’ health issues, parents can ease the back-to-school transition and help ensure a successful year ahead for their children.
Editor’s note: Bethany Children’s Health Center provides pediatric primary care, behavioral health and other specialized medical and therapy services to children in Oklahoma. Learn more about Bethany Children’s and the planned expansion of outpatient services at bethanychildrens.org.
