Back-to-School Health Checklist: Keeping Your Child Healthy During the Busy Season

As the new school year begins in Miami, you should prioritize your child's health by scheduling an annual physical with your primary care holistic doctor to ensure their immunizations, including the flu vaccine, are up-to-date. If your child requires medication at school, familiarize yourself with the school's medication administration guidelines and adhere to them accordingly.

A Comprehensive Back-to-School Health Checklist

Along with a new school year comes a fresh start and a chance to prioritize your family's health and safety. As students sharpen their pencils and charge their devices, parents are gearing up to ensure their children are healthy and ready to succeed. This back-to-school health checklist offers you a few guidelines on meeting both the mental and the physical health needs of your school-age children:

1. Calm back-to-school jitters: If your child appears to be anxious about returning to school, some additional physical activity could help. Whether it's biking, running, swimming, walking, or playing some kind of team sport, 60 minutes per day of exercise can improve focus and also may even decrease the risk of depression and anxiety.

2. Establish Healthy Routines: A well-rested, nourished, active child is much better equipped to thrive in the classroom. So, it will help if you prioritize establishing consistent sleep schedules, balanced meals, and opportunities for physical activity. Encourage your child to develop healthy habits supporting their academic and personal growth throughout the school year.

3. Evaluate Your Child’s Vision and Hearing: Both vision and hearing play a crucial role in your child's academic performance and social development. Schedule appointments with an optometrist and audiologist to assess your child's visual and auditory capabilities. If any issues arise, you should work closely with the professionals to address them, ensuring your child can fully engage in the classroom and social activities.

4. Promote Mental and Emotional Well-being: The transition back to school can be a stressful time for your child, so take the time to have open conversations with him or her about any feelings, concerns, and expectations for the new school year. Encourage your child to express his or her emotions and provide support and reassurance as needed. Consider connecting with the school's counselor or a mental health professional if your child could benefit from additional guidance or resources.

5. Review Any Medication Needs: If your child requires prescription medications or over-the-counter remedies for allergies or other chronic conditions, ensure that you have an ample supply and that the school is aware of your child's needs. Work with your child's healthcare provider and the school administration to develop a plan for properly storing and administering any necessary medications.

Essential Vaccinations and Immunizations for School Children

It's essential to be aware that the necessary vaccinations and immunizations for children vary widely based on their age and school grade. Here's an example of one state's vaccination requirements (however, your state may have different requirements) for school-age children before admittance to kindergarten:

• Five doses of DTaP/DT

• Four doses of polio vaccine

• Two doses of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella)

• Three doses of hepatitis B

• Two doses of hepatitis A

• Two doses of varicella (chickenpox)

Strategies for preventing the spread of common illnesses in classrooms

The 20th-century increase in life expectancy is largely attributed to improved child survival rates, primarily due to immunization, which led to a decline in infectious disease mortality. However, infectious diseases continue to be a significant cause of illness, disability, and death. Disease awareness and adherence to preventive measures and treatment regimens remain crucial for mitigating the transmission of infectious diseases, especially in the classroom. That's why the current immunization recommendations in the United States target 17 preventable diseases throughout an individual's life.

Maintaining healthy sleep habits during the school routine

Starting a new schedule when school starts can be a shock to your child's system. That's why you want to ease them back into the new sleep routine. Before the coming new school year, try setting a regular bedtime and wake-up time in your house and getting everyone back in the habit of being on a strict schedule. Elementary-aged children should get 10 to 12 hours of sleep per night, while teens should aim for 8 to 10 hours nightly. Here are a few more back-to-school sleep tips to help your child maintain good sleep habits throughout the school year and beyond:

• The best option is to help your children maintain a consistent routine of going to bed and waking up at the same time each day throughout the entire year, whenever possible. That way, even when school restarts after a school break, they'll be in the habit of having a consistent sleep schedule.

• If that option isn't possible, then adjusting your child's sleep schedule should be incremental. In the weeks leading up to going back to school, have your child wake up 15 minutes earlier and go to bed 15 minutes earlier than during their school break.

• Adjust their bedtime and wake-up times in 15-minute increments every few days until your child sleeps and wakes at the desired times for back-to-school. By the first day back, they should have adjusted to the new sleep schedule and been ready.

Following these guidelines and prioritizing your child's health can facilitate a smooth transition back to school and promote their overall well-being throughout the academic year. So, to get started, make an appointment for your child for his or her annual physical before the school year begins. Ahimsa MD's Dr. Simon Baid is an Integrative Holistic Primary Care Doctor in Miami, specializing in everything from Pediatrics to Adult Primary Care, Urgent Care, Integrative Care, and Concierge Care.