Ten Tips for Ensuring a Healthy, Safe and Successful School Year."

We all know that the first day of school opens up a door way into the world of spreading germs. Since hands are everywhere and there is never enough time or disinfectent to get every little germ illness often results. To help keep the germs down and ensure a healthy, safe and successful school year.

1. Children often take their cue off of us so if we are excited about school starting they will be as well. Go back to school shopping and have fun doing it. The night before create a special meal and have a great conversation about going back to school
2. Creating a quite place for them to study, read, and relax is also a great idea. After school snacks is something that we often had as lunch is often served early in the day and they are hungry by the time they get home. Have the special study area supplied with pencils, paper and etc.. so that after snack they can do their homework before anything else.
3. Its sad to say but one of the most important lessons to teach your child before starting school is their name, address, phone number, and what to do in case of an emergency. This may prevent them from getting lost or something else happening to them.
4. If your children walk to school then before the first day of school you should devise a walking route with them. Be sure it is the safest route. It does not always mean it is the quickest but the safest. Make sure that they know they have the right to say no and to yell and run to a safety place if they are threatned.
5. Teach your child that germs are spread by touching and that hand to nose transfer is the most common way to get a cold. One great way to do this is to have your child wet his hands then deep them into lightly in the flour. The flip through the pages of a magazine looking for ads that talk about colds, flus and their symptoms. While looking through the magazine discuss how it feels to have a cold or the flu. Tell him that the flour that they had on their hands is like germs flip back through the pages finding once again the ads that you had discussed. Point out that the flour had gotten to the nose, ears, head etc... and that the flour represents germs and how the germs would have caused cold or illness.
6. Hand Washing is a technique that most do not realize must be taught. After working in the medical field for many years I have learned that hand washing is one of our best safeguards from contacting illness. When your child goes to school they will be touching many different things that others have touched and picking up germs as they go along. The virus that causes the common cold can live forever on objects and surfaces like pencils, books, tables and playground equipment. Teaching children to wash their hands will help them to guard against these germs. Teach them to count to 30 or to sing the Happy Birthday Song is a good mark to know how long to wash hands.
7. Sneezing or coughing into the elbow helps to prevent the germ from being spread. So this is a technique should be taught before starting school
8. The bathroom often becomes a place to horse around in. Tell your child that the bathroom is an important private business. Make sure that they know washing their hands after using the bathroom is very important.
9. Times may get a bit busy in the school year but remember that your child is trying their best and in return you should as well
10. Plug your self into their school activities and stay an active parent through out the year. This will help them know that school is important
    
    
    
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