The COVID 19 pandemic raging all over the world has been deadly for kids and parents alike. Every time it seems that humankind has beaten it back into submission, it resurfaces with a vengeance with a different variant. Add to that the fact that the average child typically goes through at least half a dozen infections per year. You can see why it is so important to make sure that your kids remain safe and healthy throughout the school year. A healthy body and mind are one of the strongest safeguards against the many diseases and infections that lurk in the background. Here are a few tips to ensure that your kids will be able to avoid germs even as they keep their auto-immune systems strong:
- Stay up-to-date with regard to their immunization regime
It is absolutely imperative that they get their flu shots on time. The same holds true for all other kinds of immunizations as well. In fact, such vaccinations are one of the best ways of protecting your children from childhood diseases that they might catch from their school friends.
- Make sure that they get adequate sleep
It is essential to ensure that your kid has an established and consistent bedtime routine. As a general rule, very young children from kindergarten all the way through grade six should aim to get anywhere between 9 to 11 hours of sleep every night. The amount and quality of sleep are often directly associated with the way your child will behave in class. It will also affect your children’s eating habits as well as their innate ability to ward off infections. Lack of sleep will automatically increase their cravings for all kinds of junk food and might even result in mood swings too.
- You should reduce their screen time
Try to limit their screen time (irrespective of TV, computer games tablet, or smartphone) to a maximum of two hours daily. All that excess light can be harmful to their young eyes and also disturb their sleep patterns.
- Get them to exercise daily
A young child needs lots of healthy physical activity. An hour of playtime would be adequate to synergize their immune system and get them to sleep well too. It will also help them to deal with stress and improve their overall performance at school.
- Make sure they wash their hands
If they don’t like washing their hands, you should try and teach them the happy birthday song. If they would sing it twice while washing their hands, this means they would have a good 20 seconds or so of sanitizing their hands properly, with soap and water.
- Get regular hearing and vision checks
You will have to ensure that vision and auditory checks are an integral part of your children’s routine wellness visits. Since such issues and impairments can also lead to behavioural issues and affect learning and development, you should get them checked every year at the least.
- Help your children deal with anxiety and stress and promote proper weight distribution
School, social media, the neighbourhood, and sports have the potential to become recurring sources of anxiety and stress for your children. It is vital to monitor their social media usage to see that they are not being bullied. You should always keep your lines of communication open so you will be able to pinpoint any red flags and so help your child deal with all such issues safely.
A heavy backpack may cause severe shoulder, neck, and back pain. You should buy the best backpacks available for your child. Try and find one that has at least 2 padded straps and a padded back. The gross weight of the bag should never exceed 10 % of the child’s total body weight.
- Take care of their diet
Keeping a regular and healthy diet is one of the best ways of ensuring their health. They should take the right kind of nutritious foods and vitamins such as sugar free gummies to remain healthy throughout the school year.
- Conclusion
If you take care of your children’s sleep, exercise, and vaccination as well as their diet, it is likely that they will keep healthy throughout the school year.
