Back-to-School Tips For Children
East Tennessee Children’s Hospital would like to share a few back-to-school tips to help children have a successful return:
- Establish a strong and consistent sleep routine
- Make bedtime half an hour earlier every three to four nights to prepare for their new bedtime for the school year.
- Help your child wind down by doing a relaxing activity like reading, coloring or listening to calming music.
- Make their room sleep-friendly by removing electronics, bright lights and installing blackout curtains.
- Limit screen time and no screens 30-60 minutes before bed.
- Eat a nutritious breakfast and pack a healthy lunch
- Make sure their meal includes protein, vegetables, grains and fruit.
- Choose water, low-fat or fat-free dairy milk to avoid sugary drinks.
- Visit ETCH.com for healthy recipes.
- Make sure your child is up to date on vaccines and physicals for sports
- Certain grades, like kindergarten and 7th grade require a check up and vaccines.
- Complete your child’s sports physical six to eight weeks before the season begins.
- If your child needs to see a pediatrician but yours doesn’t have available appointments, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Telehealth is available at many schools and counties across the region. Visit ETCH.com to learn more.
- Discuss school anxiety
- Look for signs of avoidance or physical symptoms, such as headache or stomachache.
- Reassure them by reminding them it’s ok to be nervous and talk them through different scenarios to ease their mind. (Ex: What if the thing you are worried about does happen? What will you do? Will it be as bad as you think it will be?)
- Help them cope by trying different breathing exercises or writing worries on a sheet of paper and putting them in a worry box.
- Get organized
- Organize and set out what they need the night before. Homework and books should be put in their backpacks by the door and clothes should be laid out in their bedrooms.
- Write down the need-to-know info. This helps them remember details such as their locker combination, what time classes and lunch start and end, their homeroom and classroom numbers, teachers' and/or bus drivers' names, etc.
- Use a wall calendar or personal planner to record when assignments are due, tests will be given, extracurricular practices and rehearsals will be held, etc.
