Your child has new clothes and all the pens and notebooks they should need for an entire school year. But there’s another checklist that’s important to focus on as they’re heading back to school, where
- kids spread germs,
- tests spread anxiety and
- your child needs to keep moving from day to day.
Your child may have already started school. However, that doesn’t mean it’s too late to implement this checklist to ensure they’re healthy and ready to keep moving throughout the school year.
Sleep
Good sleep is essential for everyone, especially for children who are still developing and growing.
As school is starting again, it’s time to set up a bedtime routine and maintain a regular sleep schedule—no more summer hours.
The appropriate amount of sleep helps reduce stress and anxiety and will help your child feel refreshed and ready to go each day.
Making sure that teenage children get their homework done before hanging out with friends can also help get them to bed earlier since they won’t be staying up late to finish their procrastinated assignments.
Healthy Meals
It’s no secret a healthy diet is part of the key to success in school and maintaining good health. But not all children are particularly motivated to ensure they eat well-balanced meals.
If it were up to them, it would be pop-tarts on the way out the door and a candy bar for lunch. As a parent, you can help teach your children the importance of balanced meals.
You can help prepare their meals for the week as well. Pack lunches ahead of time with nuts, fruits, and veggies.
Make breakfast each morning, or do some meal prep on the weekends for easy on-the-go breakfasts for your late sleepers.
Dental Check
If your child needs a dentist, getting a checkup before or at the start of a new school year is always a good idea. This will allow you to plan future dental appointments around extensive tests or events.
Having dental work taken care of at the start of the year will prevent it from becoming a nuisance later on as well.
Hand Sanitizer
Germs spread in public settings with lots of kids touching lots of things. So make sure to prepare your child for the spread of germs.
Arm them with some hand sanitizer to use before lunch and after recess. We don’t want to turn our children into germ-a-phobes, but a little practical hygiene can help prevent the spread of illnesses you don’t want entering your home.
Traffic Safety
Do your kids walk themselves to school? A refresher course in traffic safety is always a good idea as school is starting again.
Make sure they know when to cross the road, especially if you live in a larger city. Maybe even walk to or from school once or twice, letting your children lead the way to ensure they still know their way just fine and won’t get lost.
Allowing independence in your children is excellent. However, safety is always the best policy, so you can know they’ll get home without worry.
Finally, the back-to-school healthy checklist can help every parent keep their kids safe. Here are some tips to keep your children safe at home.
