Back to School: Staying Healthy

Staying Healthy – Healthy Children, Healthy Living

It is that time of year again when the leaves begin to turn, the air gets cool and children go back to school. For some parents “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”. However, keeping your children healthy as they return to school, or enter day care for the first time, can be a challenge!

 

Parents are often frustrated by how often their children are sick, especially if they are in school or day care. Here are some tips from the nurses at Ridgeview to help your children stay healthy as they begin back at school.

Staying Healthy

To help your kids stay healthy year round, even during cold and flu season, it can help to:
  • Encourage your kids to wash their hands often, especially before they eat, after they use the bathroom, or when ever they seem dirty.
  • Teach your kids not to share glasses, water bottles, hats, towels, or other items with friends.
  • Have kids cover cuts and scratches, especially if they will be in a group setting like a school locker room.
  • Teach your kids to keep their fingers and other items such as pencils and pens out of their mouths. This keeps germs out of their mouths.
  • Teach kids to wash fruits and veggies before they eat them, and follow other food safety practices.

Healthy Living

In addition to avoiding germs, following some basic principles of healthy living might help to keep your child healthy. These are:
  • Get a good night’s sleep, which means 11 to 12 hours for preschoolers and 10 to 11 for school age.
  • Be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day.
  • If your child is overweight, help him/her get to healthy weight through a combination of healthy eating and exercise.
  • Consider giving your child a multi-vitamin.
Most importantly, avoid close contact with other people who are sick. However, since you can’t always know; simply try to avoid unnecessary contact with a lot of people if you have a newborn, infant or toddler.
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