Texas Children's Hospital in Houston is urging Texas families to get ready to go back to school, not just with new backpacks and lunchboxes but also with their health and safety.
There are 10 main areas to which they feel parents should focus their attention:
1. Sleep changes. Starting the process in advance instead of letting children sleep-in right up until the day before they go back will ease the transition.
2. Nutrition. Healthy eating habits are crucial to children performing their best in school. The healthy eating section on the Texas Children's Hospital website offers 10 meal and snack ideas.
3. Vaccines. The hospital advocates the vaccine schedule set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and also adhering to the ones required by your child's school district.
4. Heart checkups for athletes. The summer months without exercise can make the sudden jump back into sports hard on the heart. The hospital also recommends a complete checkup for athletes with a family history of heart problems.
5. Anxiety. Children can have anxiety too and it's important for parents to be aware and understand the unease that children can have with the onset of a new school year.
6. Backpack safety. It's important to make sure your children aren't putting too much stress on their body with their backpack. Experts at Texas Children's Hospital give backpack safety guidelines for children. Find them here.
7. Physical exams. Use back to school as a good reminder to schedule a yearly physical; school vision and hearing tests alone aren't enough to find out if your child has any serious problems.
8. Heat and high humidity. This is an especially important one for athletes. However, in some parts of the U.S., even children walking to school or having recess outdoors is enough to be a concern. Parents need to learn heat safety and pass the information on to their children. (Related Article: How to keep children safe in the heat)
9. Communication. The hospital highlights allergies and asthma as important things to communicate but it's important to communicate any special needs at all to your child's school. Both your child and the school need to know how special needs should be handled. Texas Children's Hospital gives tips on how to communicate with schools about special needs on their website.
10. Behavioral problems. Parents need to be aware that poor performance and behavioral problems aren't just an indication that a child is "acting out." There is usually a reason for it - one of them being sleep problems. Check out the Texas Children's Sleep Center website for a list of common symptoms to watch for.
For more information, see the Texas Children's Hospital's guide to health and safety for children preparing for school.
For updated information for families, follow KilleenSAHM on Twitter.
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