There’s a flurry of activity at the Rohlfing household in Ankeny as three kids head back to school this month.
There are doctors’ appointments to go to, school supplies and clothes to buy, making that last family trip to CJ’s Bagel Basket before the school year starts, and the big priority—getting sleep routines back on track.
“A week before school resumes, we try to get back into a normal sleeping schedule,” says mom, Christi Rohlfing. During the school year, Noah, 12, has a bedtime of 9 p.m.; Isabelle, 9, and Sophia, 6, go to bed at 8 p.m.
Sara Schutte, D.O., a pediatrician at Mercy North Pediatric Clinic in Ankeny, recommends 10 hours of sleep for elementary and middle school students, and about nine hours for high schoolers.
Two weeks before school starts, Dr. Schutte suggests moving up kids’ bedtimes by 15 minutes every two to three days until reaching the goal bedtime. She says sleep routines should include low-key activities such as reading, brushing teeth, and taking a bath.
“During the school year the television stays off at suppertime and for the remainder of the night,” says Christi Rohlfing. The kids read, shower, or play a quick card or board game before picking out a music CD to listen to in bed.
But there’s more than sleep schedules to consider in back-to-school preparations, including different needs for different ages.
Elementary and Junior High
Dr. Schutte wants parents to remember two words: yearly physical.
“A lot of people forget to come in every year,” Dr. Schutte says. Annual exams not only help kids keep up with important vaccinations but are also a time to discuss healthy lifestyle habits, peer pressure, bullying, and good study habits.
The yearly physical is not to be confused with the sports physical, Dr. Schutte says. “The sports physical is basically kind of a physical exam where they check you out to make sure your body is OK to perform physical activity. What we do is a comprehensive exam.”
Dr. Schutte also recommends eating a healthful, balanced breakfast. Try a bowl of cereal, a banana, and two pieces of bacon, or scrambled eggs with string cheese.
Middle School and High School
For some kids, summer break also means taking a “holiday” from medications to treat conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Parents should contact their child’s physician one to two weeks before school begins to talk about restarting medications, recommends Sasha Khosravi, D.O., a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Mercy Behavioral Health in Des Moines. That way, the drugs are working optimally and with minimal side effects when school starts.
Visiting the school and meeting teachers beforehand can alleviate anxiety in children with ADHD or those with autism spectrum disorders, says Dr. Khosravi. A letter or face-to-face meeting between parents and teachers to discuss problems from the previous year can also be helpful.
Anxiety, depression, and bullying are big issues among tweens and teens, he says. Symptoms such as excessive irritability, being more withdrawn, and sleep and appetite disturbances can signal depression or anxiety.
When it comes to bullying, studies have shown that parents who talked just 15 minutes a day to their kids helped victims of bullying, as well as bullies themselves, Dr. Khosravi says.
High School and College
“A lot of effort goes into making sure that children and college students are up on vaccinations, but if you look statistically at young adulthood, probably the more important thing we review with them is young adulthood and the risks that come with that,” says David Harrison, D.O., with Mercy North Family Practice and Urgent Care in Ankeny.
Suicide, drug and alcohol use, depression, and motorcycle and automobile accidents are very common issues among young people, Dr. Harrison says. Talking to kids about thesetopics, listening to what’s going on in their lives, and teaching them to make healthful choices is critical.
The hectic schedules of many high school and college students can also make them susceptible to infections such as mononucleosis, Dr. Harrison says. Eating healthfully and getting lots of rest can help students from getting ill.
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