By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
As a full-time working mom, Shreveport’s Leslie Smith doesn’t have a lot of free time. That’s especially true this time of year, as she is busy getting her three children ready for a new school year.
There are clothes and lunch boxes to buy. If a child’s backpack is a little long in the tooth, add that to the list.
“Every year, the summer gets shorter and shorter,” Smith told the Shreveport-Bossier Journal. “You feel like you’re cutting into your summer a little bit because you’re trying to prepare, and it already seems shorter than when I was a kid.”
But in the Smith family, there is one thing which takes priority when a new school year approaches: Wellness Checks.
“I feel like it’s important to have that baseline of where your child is developmentally, and where they should be in terms of their peers. Comparatively, are they developing? Are they on track?”
Smith isn’t alone. With Caddo and Bossier Parish schools starting in August, pediatricians are busier than usual.
“We recommend an overall health check for a child every year after the age of three,” Dr. Jennifer Seidenberg, a pediatrician with Ochsner LSU Health, told the Journal. “Before that, it’s actually more frequently . . . . An overall health check to make sure they’re growing well, developing well, and that there aren’t any medical issues, behavioral issues, or anything else that has popped up in the last year.”
The classroom can be a breeding ground for sickness. While you can’t guarantee your child will be immune from catching a classmate’s illness, there are some things you can do to lessen those chances.
“A healthy diet is a good place to start,” Dr. Seidenberg said. “The recommendation for all of us, even adults, is five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Adequate dairy intake with three servings a day, to keep your Vitamin D and Calcium levels up. No excess sugary or non-nutritious foods, although of course, kids are going to have some of that. Overall, a well-balanced, healthy diet, where they are getting good nutritional balance, and at least an hour of exercise a day.”
One of the best ways to keep your school-aged child in the best possible health comes when they are not awake.
“What is their sleep schedule like?,” Dr. Seidenberg asks. “Are they getting enough sleep? Are they going to bed at an appropriate time the night before? Is the quality of sleep good? Do they have something like sleep apnea? Sleep quality is very important for school performance. You need to make sure kids are going to bed at an appropriate time every night and sleeping well throughout the night.”
Smith can tell right away when one of her children have not had a good night’s sleep.
“It really starts the day off a little more unbearable, or cranky, than it has to be, from the seven-year-old to the 15-year-old.”
That is why Smith will soon start easing her kids into their school-year sleep schedule.
“We keep our kids active during the summer, so they don’t really get to sleep in a whole lot anyway. But we will start those early bedtime routines and getting them into the habit of cutting off screen time earlier, maybe having some quiet time – reading a book, drawing, doing some quiet activities leading into our back-to-school sleep requirements.”
So, what is the right amount of sleep?
“It depends on the age,” Dr. Seidenberg said. “An elementary school-aged kid, you would want them to get about 10 hours of sleep at night . . . . As kids get a little older, they may be able to get away with nine hours. Teenagers often try to shortchange their sleep and get less than that. They actually need quite a bit of sleep.”
Part of taking your child to the doctor before school starts has to do with paperwork. For example, the middle of Smith’s three boys has Dysgraphia and ADHD.
“He has a few accommodations in place in the school setting which help him be successful.” Smith said. “(The school) needs that ongoing documentation that he still has these conditions and diagnosis, so we can all be assured he is getting what he needs to be successful.”
In fact, if your child requires medication while at school, there are forms to be completed.
“Let’s say (a child) has asthma, or a food allergy, and they might need an EpiPen, or they have migraine headaches – something that requires medication they might have to take at school. You want to make sure they have refills of that medication, and the paperwork that allows for the school to give the medication.”
So, while most children go to the doctor when they are sick, Dr. Seidenberg says the time to take them to their physician may be when they are well – especially this time of year.
“An overall health check before the school year is good for everybody.”
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.