Back to School

It’s August which means it’s back to school time. Time for homework, carpool, sports practices, PTA meetings, birthday parties, and more fun. Here’s what your pediatrician recommends for this fun but hectic season.

Back to school can unfortunately mean back to germs. Hand hygiene is the most important thing you can do to prevent illness. Encourage your child to wash their hands often, especially before eating/drinking and after coughing/ sneezing. If your child unfortunately does get sick please keep them home to rest and recover. Most schools require children to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.

Adequate sleep is very important for learning and overall health. The AAP recommends 6-12 year-olds get between 9-12 hours of sleep and 13-18 year-olds get 8-10 hours of sleep. Let’s try hard this year to get everyone in bed early. For more information on good sleep habits take a look at our previous blog post on sleep below.

In order to learn the brain needs nutrition. Ensuring your child eats a healthy breakfast every morning gives their brain the power to grow! If your child struggles to get out of bed in time to eat before going to school most public schools in our area offer free breakfast.

Create a designated homework zone that is quiet and free of distractions for your young learner. We suggest creating a family rule that the tv and other devices be turned off or put away until homework is done.

For more back to school tips check out this article from the American Academy of Pediatrics.