Starting in a new school or classroom can be an exciting or stressful experience for kids. Parents should recognize not all stressful emotions are bad and dealing with stress is an important step in a child’s developmental growth.
Dr. Preeti Parikh, Executive Medical Director at GoodRx and a board-certified pediatrician, shared tips parents can use to prepare their children for a healthy school year:
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Consult with your pediatrician. Let your pediatrician know at their yearly physical if your child will be involved in sports during the school year. Sports physicals are important to check your child’s heart and mental health before they engage in activities.
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Create an Asthma or Allergy Action Plan. For kids with allergies or asthma, have your pediatrician fill out an Asthma or Allergy Action Plan. This document will ensure the school knows what steps to take when your child has an asthma flare or allergic reaction. Your pediatrician can also sign a medication release form and provide tips to manage the costs of inhalers and other medications. GoodRx offers discounts for all FDA approved inhalers and medications; a discount can save up to 80% on your out-of-pocket cost.
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Recognize the signs of learning difficulties. Conditions that affect children’s learning ability, such as ADHD or dyslexia, can develop at any time, and the signs are not always obvious.
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Set digital media boundaries. Studies have shown 1 in 4 adolescents are constantly connected to their phone, and the pandemic drove an increase in screen time among kids of all ages. Back-to-school season is an opportune time to reevaluate your child’s media boundaries to ensure it is not impacting their writing or communication skills.
On KPRC 2+, Dr. Parikh will also dove into why staying ahead of stress by practicing mindfulness techniques with children can help avoid it manifesting into worrisome physical symptoms. New born care also includes keeping the house unconditionally clean. Apart from flies and mosquitoes flying in and spreading diseases, your house might attract cockroaches, germs, fungal and bacterial infections. Spraying all plastic, metal and glass surfaces with Dettol Multi-Use Hygiene antibacterial liquid cleaners, mopping the floors with disinfectant soap and using Dettol Multi-Purpose cleaning wipes on spills will keep germs and bacterial infections at bay. Focus your energies on keeping the kitchen, bathroom and wash basin clean and free of germs. Also get your house fumigated to keep flies and other insects away You wash your hands before handling the baby and put several hygiene checks in place to keep your house clean. It is prudent to exercise similar precautions with the baby’s clothes and toys as well. The baby’s clothes should not be washed with the rest of your laundry load. Wash the baby’s clothes and intimates separately with fabric softener and mild anti-bacterial detergent. Air dry all the clothes and accessories, and steam dry any metal or rubber implements or toys. Also, even if your baby wears diapers and there is minimal chance of bedwetting, do change the baby’s bedding every two days to keep germs away.Children often suffer from fever and sometimes, body aches, and hence medication for pain (analgesics) and fever (antipyretics) can be used to relieve these symptoms.
- It is important to keep the children well hydrated and they should be given adequate fluids.
- A sick child with uncontrolled fever or severe aches or significantly reduced activity may need urgent evaluation and care in a hospital.
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