Taking the kids back to school is often a great joy for parents. For parents who work from home, it is often a mixed feeling. While they want some serenity, they also miss the children.
Whatever the case is, back to school time also comes with its own troubles that parents pray against.
When school resumes, children from different homes return to school. It is not unusual to find some who come back with one transferable ailment or another.
Sadly, parents would find themselves visiting the hospital just few weeks into school resumption.
Children play together a lot and most times the teachers are not able to keep them apart. They come back with so much excitement, seeing each other after a break.
For this reason, it is important that parents get this back to school tips.
Few things this will do.
- Help ensure that your kid do not return from school with an infection
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It will help you ensure that your child is healthy enough always to also keep other children safe.
Back To School Tips That Will Keep Your Child Free From Infection
1. Be Mindful Of Effect Of Paint
One of the things we do is visit schools before resumption. We see a lot and here is one thing we notice.
Most importantly, you should make out time to visit your child’s school before the child goes back to school.
One of the likely things you would notice is that some classrooms get a new look. You love it and we do.
But you have to understand something about that new look you love. The walls are just coated with paint.
We found something amazing about paints that you should see.
Also read about Heart Disease: How To Keep Your Child Safe
Most paints have a substance that is called thinner and this is one compound that is not so friendly with humans.
A 2014 study highlights that paints can suppress your child’s immune system and make the child come down with flu (1).
This substance in paint can also cause skin irritation and dizziness.
Lymphocytes are white blood cells that are also one of the body’s main types of immune cells.
They help the body attack viruses and cancer cells.
To know the impact of this compound on humans, scientists exposed human lymphocytes to various levels of solvent concentration.
Results demonstrated significant DNA damage to lymphocytes at all levels of solvent exposure.
To help your children stay safe from this material, which they will surely be exposed to, you have to do certain things.
2. Infectious Diseases
Unfortunately, parents allow their children to return to school with flu and other diseases that could be contracted easily.
Your child could come home with flu if you do not give the child enough attention now. This back to school fortification should begin before your child goes back to school.
3. Pay Attention To Their Food Pack
One of the other things that cause infection for children as they return to school is lack of proper care for their food pack.
They way you wash your child’s food pack matters a lot. Most food packs could house bacteria in the cover section and this causes infection.
When steam from the new food added to the pack flows back into the food, that is bacteria crawling in.
For proper guidance on how to wash your child’s food pack, kindly read our article on this.
Best Way To Wash School Children’s Food Packs
4. Good Toilet Hygiene
For your girl child, it is also important that you teach them the need to wipe their vagina after urinating.
Also re-emphasise handwashing.
This will help them form a proper hygiene around these activities. It will, above all, keep infection away.
It is necessary because you do not know the kind of toilet system that other kids use at home.
While the above precautions are necessary for your child’s health, as they return to school, the other things we will discuss below hold great positive impact.
5. Focus On Immune Boosting Foods
As your child goes back to school, focus should be on boosting the child’s immune system.
If you have not been doing that before now, this is the time to begin.
As a parent, you are the watchdog to your child’s immune system.
Offer the child fruits and vegetables of different kinds. These food items contain natural minerals and nutrients that boost everyone’s immune system.
Not just orange. Give them apples, honeydew melon, pawpaw, carrots, banana, cucumber, celery, cabbage and beetroot. Don’t consider the cost, for ‘life is greater than whatever it is spent to keep it’.
Others are red grapes, pineapple, onions, spinach and sweet potatoes. You may offer them sweet potatoes as lunch.
Children like colours and presenting these fruits and vegetables in a unique way encourages them to eat it. You can make arts with them. They will surely love it.
You can also find a way to add few drops of apple cider vinegar in their vegetables or fruits.
This will help add good bacteria to their gut and further keep bad bacteria in check.
6. Eliminate Or Reduce Consumption Of Sweetened Drinks
As much as possible, you should take out sweetened drinks from the child’s diet.
When you do, the child’s immune system will stay strong.
A study finds that excess consumption of sugar is harmful leading to various elements affecting our health, more so in children and women (2)
Basically, parents must find a way to eliminate sweetened drink from their children’s lunch boxes.
Another study also states that sugar affects the immune system cells that attack bacteria and this is why your child does not need it now (3).
Again we recommend that while shopping for your kids, you should go for a wide variety of brightly colored fruits and vegetables.
Make a juice from these and replace any sweetened drinks with them.
You can blend these fruits and sieve it to make sure that only the juice comes out for them to take.
Because they may not love it with the fibre, it is great to make sure they get only the liquid.
You may also find out article on 7 Health Benefits Of Yoghurt helpful.
With that, they can drink it easily like their normal sweetened drinks.
Also add sweet fruits in it so that it will have the sweet taste.
After all, the children can get enough fibre from other foods they eat.
Meanwhile, other foods that are good for the child’s immune system are fresh garlic and ginger, which may help fight viruses and bacteria.
7. Emphasise Handwashing
We are still in an era that handwashing is a necessary habit to uphold. Every now and then, a new variant of corona virus comes.
As this happens, children are also susceptible to contracting this virus. When they do, they bring it home to their parents.
As a result, it is important that you emphasise the need to them to always wash their hands.
Teach them the right way to do it.
8. Always Wear A Face Shield Or Nose Mask
It is not a time to throw your facemask or shield away. Encourage the children to wear their facemask always to protect them from catching flu.
Do not stop talking to them about the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
9. Engage In Family Exercise Time
Family exercise time is something that families should adopt at this time.
Exercising 20 minutes per day is sure to help keep your children active.
When they run around, allow them, but ensure that it is a coordinated activity.
You can help them form a routine around it to ensure that they grow with it. It will help them always exercise as adults.
We believe the way to a great health begins with what goes into your mouth, your hygiene and then exercise routine.
Form habits around these things and you will have a great health as you age.
Thank you for making out time to read. We are all about helping families live a healthy life.