Tips To Ensure Kids Have A Healthy Start Back To School
As many kids return back to school, parents can be a bit frantic about making sure their kids get a healthy start and settled back into a routine.
Here are a few tips to make life a little easier for everyone:
Sleep
- Most school-age kids need between 9-11 hours of sleep
- Encourage a bedtime routine and stick to it!
- Remove technology from the bedroom - no television, no laptop, no tablet, and no phone!
Food
- Healthy food helps kids focus and pay attention compared to foods that are heavy in fat or high in sugar which can lead to feeling sleepy or jittery
- Keep fruit available for a quick snack-on-the-go
- Pre-cut carrots and celery at the beginning of the week for convenience
- Create a meal plan for the week and delegate who is going to prepare each meal
Backpacks
- Limit the weight of the backpack to less than 10-15% of the child’s body weight. If the child weighs 100 pounds, then their backpack should be a maximum of 10-15 pounds.
- Insist...
Creating A Healthy Back 2 School Virtual Workstation
It’s that time of year again for kids to go back to school!
Since this year looks a lot different from previous years with more kids being homeschooled or learning virtually due to COVID-19, the school supply shopping list is also expected to be a bit different.
Pencils
Pens
Paper
Laptop
Mouse
Blue light-filtering eye glasses
Sit-to-Stand Desk
In this brief video, I share more insight into how to create a virtual workstation that allows your student to sit, stand, fidget, and learn in a small space at an affordable price.
https://www.facebook.com/ApexNetworkMtPleasantWI/videos/357184195299205/
If you would like to learn more about how to reduce stress and strain on the body during a work day or school day OR if you or your son/daughter are currently experiencing stress and strain across the neck, shoulders, and back, please do not hesitate to reach out for a FREE Movement Screen. Contact Dr. Jeanette at [email protected] or...
Protecting Kids’ Spines With Backpack Safety
I know this year looks a little different with kids returning to school. Some kids are physically going to school in-person, some are staying home to learn virtually, and some have a hybrid approach with a mixture of both in-person and virtual experiences.
If your child is physically going back to school, they will probably be wearing a backpack. Although a backpack is a necessity for carrying books, papers, school supplies, and even a laptop, it can also be one of the most common causes of spine or back problems for a child.
Have you seen a teenager exiting the school building leaning forward under the weight of a backpack while also carrying their sports bag and musical instrument?
They look like they are coming from a weekend camping excursion instead of a 7-8 hour school day!
Have you seen a 1st grader wearing a cute glittery backpack or a mighty superhero backpack that looks bigger than the child wearing it?
They look like they are...
Preparing For Back To School During A Pandemic
- This will be a year no one forgets. No one could have even imagined this year when they celebrated on New Year’s Eve and set goals for 2020.
Parents and families wouldn’t have dreamt that schools and businesses would shut down in March. They would never have thought that schools wouldn’t reopen in August or September either.
Regardless of your position of whether schools should be open or closed, the reality is that most kids will return to school this Fall virtually.
So, how do you prepare for a school year that begins from home, may stay at home, may return partially to in-person education, or may at some point return to full-time in-person school?
Here are a few tips to help you navigate through the uncertainty:
Know Your Options. Yes, you have options. You can stay enrolled in your current school and follow their guidelines. You can choose a free public online school. You can choose to pay for private online school. You can...