The back-to-school season is quickly approaching. This brings with it seemingly endless shopping lists filled with required school supplies, lunch boxes, backpacks, new shoes, and clothes for your continually growing children.
In your busyness to purchase all these items and check them off your list one by one, there’s something else you need to do for the back-to-school season. You need to prepare your children physically and mentally for the upcoming school year as well.
Take time over the next month or so to focus on these ideas and start the new school year off right.
Enjoy Family Meal Time
Numerous studies over the years have shown the importance of eating meals together as a family. Consistently eating family meals together is said to help children lower their stress levels, boost their communication skills, and promotes healthy eating habits.
Even though we are all busy, we need to make a commitment to do this for the health of our children and families. In fact, this might be the only time all day that the family can gather together. So, even though summertime can be busy, make time now for these regular family meal times so that when the craziness of school resumes you can simply continue this habit throughout the school year.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Getting adequate sleep is important for your child’s development and growth. It also helps keep them healthier by allowing their bodies to recover from the day’s activities, boosts their immune systems, and helps them control their emotions better. Children from 6 to 12 years old should be getting 9 to 12 hours of sleep per night, and teenagers should be getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.
While summer can be filled with lots of fun activities and vacations, try to keep your kids on a normal sleep schedule as much as possible. When school resumes, it will be easier to fall back into routine bedtimes that way.
Make Time for Daily Physical Activity
We all need to get physical activity on a consistent basis, but it is even more important for children. It helps children build strong muscles and bones, helps control weight, reduces their risk of depression, and actually improves a child’s cardiorespiratory fitness levels. Don’t let your children spend the remainder of their summer glued to screens and miss out on these amazing health benefits of getting regular physical activity.
Update School Medical Records
As the calendar creeps closer and closer to the new school year beginning, don’t forget to update your child’s immunization and medical records at school. This might include a list of required medications taken at home or at school. Get your prescriptions refilled now so that you have the necessary medications to give to the school office for the new school year, such as epinephrine injectors or asthma inhalers.
Inform the school of any ongoing medical conditions that your child might have, like asthma, allergies, diabetes, heart issues, or even psychological issues. Finally, make sure that your school has updated contact information for your child’s pediatrician along with updated emergency contact information for you, your spouse, and/or other emergency contacts.
Get a Check-Up
Lastly, but not least importantly, schedule your child’s back-to-school physical today. At this appointment, you can discuss any areas of concern with the doctor regarding your child’s physical or mental health. In addition, the doctor will do all the normal physical checks to make sure that your child is ready for the new school year and possibly even perform any necessary screenings for specific health risks that are unique to your family’s situation.
Schedule Your Back-to-School Physical Today!
Don’t let the busyness of summer and that long, back-to-school shopping list distract you from scheduling your child’s annual physical. Our team at AllCare Medical Centers is ready to serve you in this way. Schedule your appointment today!
