Vacations have finished and time to go back to school. And the daily fight to wake up, get ready, tiffin and homework has begun. Though it was good to go back to school after a good almost 2 year long COVID period we need to keep in mind the health of the child both physical and mental. Here are some tips to minimize the blues of schooling all year long.

Healthy Diet

Ensure child has a healthy breakfast before going to school. Adjust your morning schedule accordingly. Also tiffin for school should be healthy with variety and options. Ensure your child is drinking adequate amount of water at school and at home.

Physical Activity & Outdoor Activity

Just like screen time ensure your child get adequate physical activity and does an exercise routine. Accompanying your child for walks and swimming will motivate your child to continue the routine.
Fresh outdoor air will alos help your child to get his stress down and elevate his mood. A pedometer or wearable device that counts steps is also helpful to ensure that a child has had a fixed quota of steps and activity everyday.

Screen Time

Online classes during COVID times brought screes of mobiles and laptops closer to every child. With the world again returning to offline mode, its time to rewind children from screens. Ensure that children are using mobile, laptops and internet only for academic purposes. Strict timelimits should be followed for non-academic use of screens. Mobiles should not be near children during sleep as it will hamper proper sleep schedule.

To help children get away from screens the whole family need to set an example by maintain screen time. And prioritize physical activity, family time and other hobbies.

Don’t Over Do

Don’t overbook your childs schedule with school, tutions and other classes. Encourage child to work on his own and give breaks between each subsequent activity classes.
If your child is feeling sick then it is better to keep him at home instead of sending to school.

Prioritize Sleep

Sleep is as important for health as exercise and diet. Ensure your child gets adequate rest of at least 10 hours every night. Teenagers need around 9hour of sleep.

Teach Good Hand Hygiene.

COVID has taught us a lot and hand hygeing is one of them. Teach your child to ensure that he washes his hand repeatedly and adequatle when in school and outdorrs especially before eating, and after toilets. Also, encourage your child to sneeze/cough on his elbow.

Immunization.

School is a major avenue where children get exposed to infections. Ensure that your child is adequately vaccinated especially with his yearly flu vaccine.