Preparing Your Child for a Healthy School Year

In addition to checking your school supplies list, finding out which teacher your child has, and buying any needed new clothing, there’s something else you can do now to help ensure a successful start to the new year: Make sure your child stays healthy.

Matthew Hinton, M.D., Pediatric Section Chief at Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Group, regularly discusses simple good-hygiene techniques with his young patients and their families, including how to practice them at school. Here are seven takeaways:

1. Effective Handwashing   

“Regular hand washing is the best way to prevent illness,” said Dr. Hinton.

There are countless online resources for teaching children good hand hygiene, through demonstration, games and practice. One suggested game is to cover your child’s hands with finger paint or glitter and see how well they can wash it away. Then help them look for the spots that still have paint or glitter remaining. This gives a good visual of the areas that need more attention, which is often the backs of their hands, between their fingers, and their thumbs.

“The general rule is to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds,” said Hinton. “Singing the ABC song or even two rounds of Happy Birthday to You while washing their hands will demonstrate to a child just how long that really is.”

“You could also draw a big X on your child’s hand with washable marker and have them wash until the X is gone. This is another way to practice how much time it really takes to get their hands clean,” he added.

Make sure your child is clear on when it’s important to wash their hands as well, such as before preparing food, before meals, after using the restroom, after coughing, sneezing or blowing one’s nose and after being in a public place. Thankfully, most classrooms have incorporated regular hand washing in their daily routines as a result of COVID precautions from several years ago.

In addition, show your child how to use hand sanitizer and encourage them to use it when a sink isn’t available.

2. Safe Ways to Cough and Sneeze

The best practice for smaller children is to sneeze or cough into the elbow, not the hand. You may remember the “dabbing” craze from a number of years ago. This is a fun way to show your child how to sneeze properly. You can “dab” your sneeze right into the crack of your elbow, then wash your hands.

Older children can be taught to use a tissue to cover their face for a sneeze or cough, throw the tissue in the trash right away, and then wash their hands.

3. Remembering to Not Touch Your Face

Touching your face is the best way to transfer germs from the environment into your body and many of us have no idea how frequently we are doing it. Try playing games with your child such as “spot mom or dad touching their face” on and off throughout the day.

“While playing the fingerpaint or glitter game described in item #1, you could demonstrate how often we “accidentally” touch our faces, and how it ends up leaving germs behind,” said Hinton.   

4. Share Sparingly and Carefully

Children are typically encouraged to share things with their classmates. However, certain items are off-limits, such as eating utensils, cups, straws, water bottles and bites of food.

5. Adjust Your Child’s Sleep Routine Before School Starts

According to the National Sleep Foundation, “preschoolers (3-5 years) should get 10 to 13 hours of sleep, while school-age kids (6-13 years) should strive for nine to 11 hours each night.” This can include naps.

“An adequate amount of sleep allows your brain to convert short-term memory into long-term memory,” said Hinton. From an academic perspective, this means that with a good night’s sleep, new information and skills learned in school will have the best chance of being retained and recalled the next day.

In addition, getting enough sleep contributes to overall good health, helping to keep our immune system strong and helping us fight illness. A bonus outcome is that if we are adequately rested, we are better able to pay attention to things like avoiding touching our faces and other safety measures.

In order to adjust from a loose summer sleep schedule to the earlier mornings required during school, Hinton recommends getting to bed 10 to 15 minutes earlier per week for a month or so prior to the first day of school. This allows a gradual shift back to your school-year bedtime routine.

6. Fuel Up with Healthy Meals

“A car analogy is a good way to talk with children about nutritious food,” said Hinton. “A car needs a full tank of gas to give the car more power and allow it to go farther.”

“Like good quality fuel for a car, good quality food helps your body work better and stay stronger,” he continued. “And it’s important to refuel throughout the day with healthy meals and snacks.”

Hinton reminds parents to keep healthy food in the home and to model healthy eating habits. “What parents do will always count more than what they say,” he explained.

For information on healthy eating, visit myplate.gov. You’ll find an interactive plate visual that you can use with your child to create your own balanced meals. You’ll also find nutrition-based games, activities, tip sheets and quizzes.

7. Ask Your Health Care Provider About Vaccines

“Talk to your healthcare provider about what vaccines he or she suggests for your child,” Hinton advised. “Vaccines protect our children, and those around them, from serious, preventable diseases that could cause illness, disability and sometimes even death.”

For advice on a broad range of parenting topics, including vaccines, nutrition and sleep, parents can visit the Healthy Children website, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. All of the information provided is reviewed and supported by pediatricians. And, of course, your own pediatrician is an excellent source of information and support. QCBN

By Joanne Mack Robertson

For more information on the many services offered by Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Center, visit yrmc.org.