July 2007
Back to school health tips
As the school countdown begins, the pressure's on to shop for spiffy threads, new notebooks and lunchboxes. Don't forget that
you also need to take some steps to safeguard your children's health. Here are some key items to tackle before the school
bell rings.
- Make sure your child has had a recent physical, especially if he or she plans to play sports, advises Lisa M. Asta, M.D., associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the
University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. Pediatricians get heavier traffic around the first day of school,
so if you wait until the last minute, the doctor might not be able to squeeze your child in for an appointment.
- Check that your child's vaccinations are up to date. Many schools and colleges won't admit students who don't have all their shots. Moreover, additional immunizations, such as
hepatitis B, are now being required. See our vaccination checklist for a full list of vaccinations your child will need.
- Write out an action plan for dealing with any chronic health conditions your child might have, such as asthma or food allergies. It'll help the school nurse and your child's teacher better address his or her needs. Include information
about triggers, medication, and instructions for an emergency; you can work with your child's physician to make sure the list
is complete. Also, make sure that your child's school has up to date emergency phone numbers on file, for both you and your
pediatrician.
- Put your kids on a sleep schedule. Your children might have grown accustomed to staying up late over the summer, but once school's in session, they'll need
to settle into a sleep routine. When kids don't get a proper night's rest, their mood and performance can be affected. A 2006
study of 1,600 adolescents found that one in four high school students falls asleep in class at least once a week. Children
ages 5 to 12 should sleep for 10 to 11 hours a night and adolescents 9 to 10 hours. (See our report on teens and sleep.) To ease the transition, Rafael Pelayo, M.D., Director of the Pediatric Sleep Service at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
in Palo Alto, Calif., suggests that you insist on new bedtimes at least a week before classes start. Have the kids minimize
or avoid stimulating activities, such as computer games, within one hour of bedtime. And make sure they go to bed and wake
up about the same time every day.
- Check for bugs. Summer, with its camps and play dates, brings plenty of opportunities for your child to contract head lice. If you catch
your child indulging in any tell-tale scratching, check her scalp. Lice can be tough to spot but the adults are usually a
brownish color, and the nymphs clear to reddish brown. Many children are not allowed to go to school if they have lice, so
you'll need to act quickly if there is a problem. But that doesn't necessarily mean using chemical shampoos. Several simple
techniques have been shown to eradicate lice. See Consumer Reports Medical Guide's advice on head lice for treatment options.
- Stock up on healthy options for breakfast and lunch. Asta suggests approaching a new school year with the same spirit in which you'd approach a new calendar year, and make resolutions to help your child eat more healthfully. Instead of putting sweetened beverages in the lunchbox, choose water or low-fat milk. And remember, Asta says, that a snack should have less than 2 grams of fat, less than 10 grams of sugar and no trans fats per serving. For more information, see our tips for packing a healthful lunch.
