The start of school is just weeks away for students across Oklahoma, and now is the time for parents and caregivers to be ready for the upcoming school year.
Summer is the time of fun in the sun, where bedtimes are relaxed or done away with altogether, but as the start of school gets closer and closer, Meagan Garibay, a nurse practitioner at Lawton Community Health Center, said it’s time to start getting into routines again.
“We need to start going to bed at a set time, getting up at a set time, working in those breakfast routines,” she said. “Parents of younger kids may want to practice packing lunches to see what the kids will actually eat.”
She said now is a good time to also make sure your kids are up to date on their shots — especially 7th graders who are required to have an updated TDAP shot.
Garibay said another thing parents can start practicing with their kids is good hand hygiene.
“And that is either washing their hands with either soap and water or using alcohol based hand sanitizer,” Garibay said. “Of course, after they use the bathroom is the perfect time for washing hands with soap and water, but it’s also good for them throughout the day to use that alcohol based hand sanitizer on all of those high-touch surfaces – door knobs, desks, lockers, because in those communal settings, germs just spread like wildfire.”
Picking the right backpack and making sure children aren’t loading them down with books is also something to be aware of.
“We have seen a lot of kids lately with increased back pain because they are having to carry a ton of books in their backpacks,” Garibay said. “So, it’s important to get a backpack that’s the right size for the child, the right fit for the child. Having a chest strap as part of the backpack kind of transfers some of that weight to the front rather than just all on the back.”
Garibay said carrying some books in their arms can also counterbalance, so they’re not carrying 30 pounds of books on their back.
Finally, stay connected with your child throughout the school year by asking open-ended questions on the way to school or after dinner, and you can learn things they might not have shared otherwise.
“After school is a little bit more challenging because they just used their brain all day,” she said. “They just used all they have to sit still for eight hours, but before school is a really good time to do that. At dinner, after they’ve had time to decompress from the day, is a really good time to kinda be like ‘hey, what’s going on? Tell me what you’re excited about this week. Tell me what you learned today.’ Those open-ended questions can really yield a lot of information.”
If your child needs updated shots or a sports physical before the school year starts, call Lawton Community Health Center. Garibay said they have several openings and should be able to get you in before then.
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