Tips for kids resuming school: Health, hygiene and nutrition
KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM SCHOOL IF THEY ARE SICK, TO PREVENT INFECTIONS SPREADING
As schools reopen after the summer break, the biggest concern for students returning for the new academic year is maintaining good health, nutrition and hygiene.
This is vital for academic performance and cutting down absenteeism in schools.
“When students return to school in September, the common cold, flu and other bacterial and viral infections are quite ubiquitous, as many children carry these pathogens from the countries they may have visited,” said Dr Nada Al Mulla, senior specialist and registrar in family medicine at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
Parents are hesitant to hold back their child from school, as they feel it will impact attendance and lessons. “But it’s always better to keep children at home for a few days and avoid taking them to the beach or pool; it will help the child recover and also prevent the outbreak of infection in school and elsewhere,” she noted.
Students mostly return from holidays with compromised immunity. Holiday diets are far from nutritious, the kids may have had far too much junk food and their sleep cycles are erratic as they may have been staying up late. Lower immunity leads to an easier spread of infections, noted Dr Al Mulla.
To ease the child into the school routine, the doctor advises families to return at least 10 days before the start of the academic year. “This helps the child acclimatise to his environment, get used to the change of weather and get enough rest after travelling,” she said.
Sleep and food routines
Waking up early and being at school for most of the day can be overwhelming to a child who has had a fairly easy, fun routine for two months.
Ease the child into a regular bedtime routine, Dr Al Mulla advises. “If the child has been sleeping around midnight during holidays, reset his biological clock gradually by bringing his bedtime forward by one hour each day, until he is ready to sleep by 8pm. Doing it too quickly may only make the child feel sleepy and tired. Proper sleep is important, as a sleep-deprived child will not ■ ■ only be tired, irritable and aggressive, he may be unable to focus in class,” she advised.
Dr Badreyya Al Ehremi, Director of Public Health at DHA, said: “Schoolchildren need 9 to 11 hours of sleep, depending on their age. Once school starts, it’s important to follow the same sleep pattern through the weekend, at least for the first month. Later on, keep weekend sleep routines as close to the weekday bedtime one.”
Kids still in holiday mode have the most messed up diet, having probably gorged on junk food, ice creams, desserts ■ THE DON’TS and carbonated drinks. Dr Wafa Ayesh, director of clinical nutrition at DHA, said it’s vital to reintroduce the child to a six-meals-a-day routine: three main meals and three snacks.
“Children tend to skip meals, primarily breakfast, during the holidays. They continue this routine when school begins. This is highly detrimental to health and affects their alertness at school. Ensuring your child has all three meals a day, along with a few healthy snacks like fruits, nuts and yoghurt etc helps the child get necessary nutrition,” said Dr Ayesh.